Orange County

Orange County school officials, state education officials meet to discuss grand jury report

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — There are unanswered questions Wednesday about a meeting between the Orange County school district and the Florida Department of Education.

A grand jury report said the district is “making concerted efforts to suppress reporting of serious incidents and hamper police investigations,” specifically in schools in the Apopka area.

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A meeting between the district and department to discuss the report started at 8:30 Wednesday morning, and Channel 9 is still waiting to hear details of what happened.

As of Wednesday evening, we don’t know what was said in the meeting, who participated nor what happens next.

Read: State report says Orange County schools failed to report crimes to police

A school district spokesperson couldn’t provide any details on the meeting and no one from the district would speak to us on camera.

Channel 9 also tried to speak the Apopka Police Department. Chief Mike McKinley didn’t want to speak on camera, but said in a statement,

“Over the past several years, the Apopka Police Department has been working with Orange County Public Schools to ensure that both parties understand what should be reported to law enforcement.  Through this partnership, we have been assured that the crimes occurring on school campuses are being reported to our SROs to be investigated.”

Read: ‘Evidence of incompetence’: Gov. DeSantis suspends 4 South Florida school board members

The Office of Safe Schools team said they will meet internally to review and discuss any documentation or findings to determine if further action is necessary.

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Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.