The House Ways and Means Education Committee gave an amended House Bill 234 a favorable report Wednesday. Sponsored by Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, the bill would require all K-12 schools to provide a rapid response emergency notification device to designated employees inside the school. That could include teachers, administrators, custodians, bus drivers and counselors.
The device, which functions like a panic button, would contact the local 911 system and transmit the location of the person activating the device. Similar devices were credited with saving lives in September when a shooting took place at Apalachee High School in Georgia, where two students and two teachers were killed.
Named “Alyssa’s Law” after Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting, the bill aims to improve emergency response times in schools.
Baker noted that 25 school systems already have a rapid notification system in place.
State Superintendent Eric Mackey told committee members he supports the measure, saying such devices have been successfully implemented in schools around the country.
“I certainly think they’re helpful,” he said.
The cost to purchase devices and implement the system will depend on which types of devices and systems schools choose to use.
Schools would have until 2030 to put the system in place, a timeline Baker said should give schools time to integrate the devices into their existing safety plans.