JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County school leaders are debating whether staff, contractors and parents may leave firearms secured in cars on campus, a shift the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is watching as vehicle gun thefts rise citywide.
Today’s local rule treats a gun found in a vehicle on school property as a possible misdemeanor. Statewide law generally permits vehicle storage on campuses but allows districts to opt out, and Duval joined St. Johns and Clay in taking that stricter path.
Sheriff’s tallies list 388 firearms stolen from vehicles this year through Oct. 7, compared with 330 over the same stretch last year. Officials keep telling residents not to leave guns overnight in cars parked near schools or homes.
Backers say a securely encased firearm could help interrupt an attacker before students are reached. Opponents, including a mother campaigning for City Council, want guns kept farther from schools and say the board should not rush a rewrite without broader input.
Draft language would require secure encasement, a phrase that can cover an unlocked glove box under some state readings, even as sheriff’s guidance still warns against leaving guns in vehicles. The board’s earliest vote window is Nov. 9.
Florida statute 790.115 sets the baseline for weapons on school grounds and lists which campuses count, from preschool through postsecondary sites. Jacksonville’s debate now turns on whether Duval keeps its opt-out or moves closer to the statewide vehicle-storage allowance this fall.
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