Law would mandate panic alarms in schools

Legislation named in honor of 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, who was one of 17 people who died in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas School, would require silent panic alarms in every public school building in Florida to alert police and rescuers

to emergencies.

“We need to create layers and layers of protection to help keep our schools safe,” said Lori Alhadeff, Alyssa’s mother. “Alyssa’s Law, these silent panic alarms, is another layer of protection to help save lives.”

HB23 and SB70 arrive on the heels of legislation passed in February in New Jersey, where the Alhadeff

family used to live, which requires the installation of panic alarms or “emergency mechanisms” in New Jersey’s public and secondary schools. The law had long been in the works but gained urgency after the Parkland mass shooting. The version that passed was named after Alyssa.

Analysis of the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting in Parkland has revealed communication issues between callers, 911 dispatchers and law enforcement officials, which delayed emergency response times. Alhadeff and legislators say panic buttons with a direct link to law enforcement officials would expedite communication.

If Alyssa’s Law had been implemented before the shooting, Alyssa Alhadeff, who was in one of the first classrooms targeted by the shooter, would not have lived, but students elsewhere in the building might have been saved, Lori Alhadeff said.

“The kids on the third floor, I think they would have definitely have had a chance if law enforcement was contacted directly and knew exactly where the threat was coming from and went into the building,” Alhadeff said.

‘Alyssa’s Law is not political’

State Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, co-introduced SB70 with Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach. Last legislative session, Book introduced a panic alarm bill that died in committee.

“Nanoseconds count in horrific events like these,” Book said. “I want to give everyone the ability to call for help if they need it. And I think that that is something that would have or could have prevented a lot of loss of life at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.”

Book said she is optimistic about the bill passing this session. Part of the reason panic alarm legislation failed last session was because it was not included in the two main school safety bills that were passed, Book said.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations with the chairs that this bill would come in front of and done a lot of education so that we could move the bill forward this year,” Book said.

The House version of the bill was introduced by Reps. Michael Gottlieb, D-Davie, and Dan Daley, D-Coral Springs — the latter a graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High.

Both bills only have Democrat sponsors, but Gottlieb said he thinks the legislation has “support across the aisle” and Daley said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the bill’s chances of passing this session.

Alhadeff said she does not think of the issue as partisan.

“Alyssa’s Law is not political. Everyone can agree we want to make our schools safer,” Alhadeff said.

The Republican chairs of the House Education Committee and the Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee did not respond to a request for comment.

While active shooter situations demonstrated the necessity for silent panic alarms, the legislators said, alarm technologies can prove crucial in other emergencies.

If the bills pass, the legislation would take effect July 1, though schools would not have to have panic alarm systems in place by that date, Book said. It’s unclear when those systems would have to be in place.

Each school district can choose its own vendor and type of silent alarm technology, Gottlieb said.

The bills’ sponsors said they do not think the cost of panic alarm technologies will burden school districts. Schools have funding for “school hardening,” or improving school security, that could be used for the alarms, Book said.

The Florida Department of Education has suggested a budget item of $8 million for things like panic alarm technology, said Gottlieb.

Book said cost isn’t what matters.

“If one life is spared, I don’t frankly care how much it would have cost,” he said.

Panic alarms in practice

Several school districts in Florida already have panic alarm systems in place, including Seminole County Public Schools.

SCPS uses Rave Mobile Safety’s panic button app, and is one of nearly 600 schools in more than 15 Florida counties to do so, said Todd Miller, Rave Mobile Safety’s chief operating officer.

The Rave Panic Button, used by faculty and instructors, directly contacts 911 and includes features like geotagging, messaging and the ability to classify incidents into categories like “active assailant” or “medical emergency,” Miller said.

“One of the key things that the Rave Panic Button will do is call and connect with 911, while also sharing additional information and critical information with not only 911 but also first responders, and all those faculty and staff members that have the application,” he said.

Rick Francis, director of district safety and security with SCPS, said panic buttons are one of his top recommendations for school safety.

“It’s the peace of mind and putting that in everybody’s hand — all of our 8,000 employees. It just broadens our scope of, ‘See something, say something’ just by a touch of a button,” he said.

The School Safety Division of SCPS pays for the panic button service, Francis said.

Instructors voluntarily use the app — only school resource officers and school safety officers are required to have it — but 89% of instructors have opted in, he said.

“In my personal opinion, the state should have mandated this and should have funded it accordingly,” he said.

Alyssa’s legacy

Two federal bills introduced this year, the School Violence Prevention and Mitigation Act and the Alyssa’s Legacy Youth in Schools Safety Alert Act — the ALYSSA Act — reference Alyssa Alhadeff, Lori Alhadeff said.

“She would be happy to know that she’s helping to make schools safer for her brothers and her friends, and that she’s making a direct impact on the country to be able to get this in every school,” Alhadeff said.

Alhadeff founded a nonprofit organization, Make Our Schools Safe, in her daughter’s memory, and she continues to advocate for school safety with Alyssa as her inspiration.

“She was an amazing person,” she said. “I’m trying to honor her, and keeping this bill named Alyssa’s Law is very important for me and my family.”

Alyssa Alhadeff