Status
Alyssa’s Law is legislation to improve the response time of law enforcement during emergencies in public schools. It mandates that all public elementary and secondary school buildings be equipped with silent panic alarms that directly notify law enforcement.
Why is it Called Alyssa’s Law?
Alyssa Alhadeff was a 14-year-old student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school in Parkland Florida. She was a victim on February 14, 2018, when a former student killed 17 people in a mass school shooting.
Alyssa’s mother, Lori Alhadeff founded a nonprofit organization, Make Our Schools Safe, which is aimed at providing safety features tailored to the specific needs of schools. With her help, the legislation was expedited in the wake of the tragedy and the final version of the law was named in Alyssa’s memory.
Alyssa’s Law Requirements
While the exact wording can vary from state to state, the foundation of Alyssa’s law requires all public elementary and secondary school buildings to be equipped with a silent panic alarm connected to local law enforcement.
Where is Alyssa’s Law in Effect?
Passed in the following states:
- New Jersey on February 6, 2019
- Florida on June 30, 2020
Pending in the following states:
- New York
- Nebraska
- Arizona
- Texas
Introduced at the Federal level in the following bills:
- HR4606
- HR3665
- HR2717
- HR3661
The Make Our Schools Safe organization is tracking the progress of Alyssa’s Law and similar legislation.
How to Prepare for Alyssa’s Law
Talk with a ClearlyIP sales representative. Currently we offer a Panic Button that is compatible with our CIP250 and CIP270
ClearlyIP supports open-source phone systems that many schools have deployed, and this would be a quick and economical way to get panic buttons deployed without massive infrastructure cost to schools. Schools could even deploy standalone systems to do this that would be much less expensive on the districts to deploy and manage.
The USB Panic Button connects to any ClearlyIP Phone that has a USB port (CIP 250 and CIP 270) and is placed in an easily accessible location such as under the desk or mounted to the wall. When pressed the button triggers the phone’s Panic Button feature or speed dial, which starts the broadcast dialing process, alerting recipients of a problem.