‘Guardian Angel’: Drones designed to ‘distract’ active shooters coming to Leon Schools
Tallahassee Democrat | By Arianna Otero | November 18, 2025
Leon County is one of three school districts in the state set to participate in the Campus Guardian Angel Pilot Program, which aims to make schools safer by using drones to “distract, disorient, confront, degrade and incapacitate a shooter.”
Commissioner Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas with the Florida Department of Education shared the news to his various social media accounts, posting an announcement detailing the information.
The program, according to state officials, “uses drones to distract active shooters while providing real-time audio and video feeds to guardians and law enforcement during potential threats on school campuses.” While the announcement didn’t elaborate on how the drones distract shooters, media reports have said the each drone is equipped with a siren, strobe lights, pepper balls and smoke bombs.
The drones are also fully integrated with the Alyssa’s Alerts, a mobile panic alert system during times of crises.
“Ensuring students and teachers have a safe and secure learning environment is one of my top priorities as a commissioner. Florida remains the national leader in school safety because we continue to invest in solutions that protect students and support a rapid, coordinated response,” said Kamoutsas in a prepared statement. “The Guardian Angel Program is an important step in expanding the safety tools available to our districts.”
“As we joined the Campus Guardian Angel Pilot Program, Leon County Schools is embracing another layer of protection that enhances rapid response, real-time awareness and coordinated action,” said Laurie Cox in a prepared statement. “We appreciate the state’s commitment to equipping our district with advanced tools and look forward to this partnership.”
In a press release, the Department of Education trumpeted that the $557,000 earmarked for the drones are part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “sustained investments in school safety with more than $1.3 billion dedicated to strengthening campus security.”
The Tallahassee Democrat reached out to Leon County Schools spokesperson Christ Petley who said that it was not clear how Leon was picked to be one of the three pilot counties, but that discussions are happening at the school board.
“We hosted a demo for this company a couple of months back and they demoed the technology here locally. We had representatives for our leadership team as well as safety and security and the sheriff’s office,” Petley said.
He added that only one school will do drone testing for the year, but the school board has yet to decide on which school that will be.
The drone testing program announced for Leon, Broward and Volusia Counties drew immediate fire from the state’s Libertarian Party, which argues the drones pose serious risks to student safety.
“Children must never be treated as subjects of a state-run surveillance system,” said Chair of the Libertarian Party of Florida Matt Johnson in a statement. “Introducing fore-capable drones into our schools is a dangerous step: it blurs the line between protection and control, and it expands government power at the expense of parents and students.”
“One malfunction could easily send pepper-spray pellets across an elementary school courtyard during a false alarm,” he continued. “The chaos and injury that would follow are entirely foreseeable. Government cannot hide behind good intentions when the consequences fall on our children.”
The Libertarian Party of Florida is calling for full transparency in the pilot program, including rules of engagement, parental opt-out provisions, and rigorous review of potential misuse before any statewide expansion is considered.
“When you introduce armed technology into a school environment, mission creep is not hypothetical; it is inevitable,” Johnson said. “We need fewer mechanisms of state control in our schools, not more.”
