Florida has 325 high schools with JROTC programs according to the four military branches. 164 of these schools have marksmanship programs, according to the Civilian Marksmanship Program.
The Oregonian newspaper examined lead contamination in the nation’s National Guard Armories. These ranges often double as community event centers that bring many youth, including those in JROTC marksmanship programs. Inspectors found lead in 424 armories, nearly 90 percent of the places for which results are available. In some states little or no data was reported. See database of Lead Contamination at Florida's National Guard Armories.
Lead Contamination at Commercial Shooting Ranges
The issue of lead contamination in commercial gun ranges gained attention in 2014 when The Seattle Times published an investigation about the dangers. The Times focused on privately-owned ranges, many that have youth programs that allow JROTC, Boy Scouts, and 4-H to shoot.
The nation has an estimated 6,000 commercial indoor and outdoor gun ranges, but only 201 have been inspected in the past decade. Of those inspected, 86% violated at least one lead-related standard, the analysis found.
In 14 states, federal and state occupational agencies didn’t inspect a single commercial gun range from 2004 to 2013, an analysis of OSHA records found.
During the 2015-2016 school year, a total of 39,770 students were tested in Florida. Of the 34,381 juniors and seniors that were tested, only 0.42% were tested under Option 8. The remaining juniors and seniors had their test results sent to recruiters without parental consent.
The 20 largest testing sessions assessed a total of 5,771 students. 602 sessions tested 10 students or fewer.
The ASVAB test was conducted in 601 schools across the state. 7 of these schools report that they made the test mandatory. Consequently, 374 students are confirmed to have been required to take the ASVAB; there may be more, judging from the numbers in some schools.