FortifyFL is a safety tool used for reporting suspicious activity, it allows students to instantly relay information to appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials. 

This anonymous safety reporting system is simple, secure, and enables students to quickly report any form of unusual student behavior. 

It is an easy 4-step process to submit a tip. When filling out the form, both a name and contact information can be skipped and submitted anonymously. Within the app, students can access their previous tips, submit updates, and additional information. Photos or videos are also available to be added in with your tip report. 

School officials have created the app to direct tip reports to the students’ local school officials when submitted. Local law enforcement, police departments, and the sheriff offices receive copies of the tips automatically. State-level officials also have access to the tips to make sure that proper steps are taken.

 This was created and funded by the Florida legislature in 2018 as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. The application was named by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The office of attorney general, department of education, and florida department of law enforcement coordinated its development and roll-out. 

Schools all around Florida are feeling more secure and safe in their learning environments due to the existence of the app.

 Cape Coral High School is one of many schools who use this platform and it has shown to be very useful to their school community. “FortifyFL is an excellent resource that provides real time information that protects all staff, students and the school. … it has been a solid resource for CCHS,” said principal Ryan Jackson.

“I think it is a great and safe place for students to report things,” stated assistant principal Marla Wunderlich.

Fortify Florida has been proven to be a great source that many students see themselves using in the future. Freshman Steven Espinal Pena said, “I do see myself using this app, I think it’s a great gadget to have just in case there’s an emergency, you can have this app as a resource so nothing bad happens to you.”

 This has been helping students feel safer and focus on their learning knowing they will have this program if there’s any emergencies during their school day. 

“I think it’s great because you never know what could happen, you could be in a dangerous situation with a lot of threats, so you can find it really useful to have when there’s situations that can harm your life instead of being unsure of what’s going on,” said Pena. “It makes us more safe in our schools and neighborhoods, so hopefully having this app makes students more dedicated to learning.”