‘ Panic button’
Smartphone app meant to improve school safety
State Rep. Bruce Cozart, R- District 24, and the other lead sponsors of the 2015 School Safety Act announced during a news conference Tuesday in Little Rock a “Panic Button” mobile application would be available for the upcoming school year.
Cozart and state Rep. Scott Baltz, D- District 61, filed the bill in the Arkansas House in March as the lead sponsors. Another 80 representatives were listed as sponsors. Sen. Jane English, R- District 34, was the lead sponsor in the Senate, where the bill had seven total sponsors.
The announcement by Cozart, Baltz and English at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock was designed to inform the public that the Rave “Panic Button” smartphone app will be available for public school employees for the 2015- 16 school year. The app will directly integrate with the state’s Smart 911 system to promptly notify first responders in case of an emergency.
All schools must participate because the app is a safety mechanism. The app will be distributed to employees at no cost to schools.
Cozart said the app can be used in
any emergency situation. School employees can use the app to alert authorities to situations such as an active shooter or a medical emergency on campus.
“They can punch that button and immediately a Smart 911 operator will answer,” Cozart said.
District administrators can modify the alert system to suit various scenarios. The same employees would not be notified for a medical emergency as during a system wide alert for an active shooter.
“The nice thing about this is the superintendent and the board can set this up any way they want for who is notified for what instance it is,” Cozart said.
“I always think it is good that we are constantly looking at ways we can make school safer,” said Hot Springs Superintendent Mike Hernandez.
Hernandez was involved in the legislative process in Little Rock as deputy commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Education. He said the crux of the bill was to craft a plan to help schools, but not be a heavy financial burden.
Baltz and Cozart worked to secure $ 850,000 from the ADE for the 2015- 16 school year.
“Scott and I worked hard to find that funding,” Cozart said. “We went to every place we could go to get it and we finally got it out of the governor’s office. The governor helped us get that through the department of education.”
The delay in funding delayed the rollout of Rave’s app to public schools. School officials will undergo new training. Representatives from Rave will visit schools to implement the system.
“I wish there was some more guidance early on,” Hernandez said. “I think there was a funding question about how that was going to be funded from the state. That took quite a bit of time. Looking back on it, it would have been great if we could have gotten the word and the understanding a lot earlier. That would have given schools the summertime to prepare.
“I know with everybody focused on making sure we have a balanced budget that sometimes there’s lots of good initiatives out there and not everything can be funded, but I am pleased that the safety aspect was something that was put out as being foremost and most important. So I’m glad it got funded and it gives us an opportunity to make our schools a little safer.”
No dissenting votes were cast against the bill in the House and Senate. Cozart said the bill received unanimous support because of its sensibility.
Public schools must have the alert system in place by Sept. 1. The system will be limited to users designated, approved and confirmed by administrators.
Smart 911 is required to provide a way for schools to geo- fence the school campus, provide and manage floor plans and provide other documents to assist emergency responders. Hernandez said Hot Springs is working to be compliant with the requirements. He said the district is communicating with other schools to determine how to best implement the system.
“There’s a lot of questions and back and forth we have had with the department and trying to figure out who all is supposed to have access to these buttons on campus or how we have to kind of change our mapping system,” Hernandez said.
Schools will upload their schools maps to the system. Hot Springs is examining the way it labels buildings to better assist responders.
“It also helps us as we are working through that process,” Hernandez said. “It helps us to look at our current safety practices. We are reviewing that and how we work with local law enforcement, the fire stations and all that.
“We are constantly changing. Every new year brings new staff members. It helps us take a fresh look at some of that, making sure that we are taking a systemic approach.”
The app must have a mechanism for panic notifications to be triggered by non- smartphone wireless callers and landline callers.
Schools are required to participate, but teachers can opt out if they choose.