Incorporating panic buttons into public school emergency planning was a popular option discussed during a public hearing on Senate Bill 5004 (SB 5004) and another school-safety bill, Senate Bill 5003 (SB 5003), this week.
The bills, aimed at increasing student and staff safety by ensuring rapid response by local law enforcement, were discussed Wednesday (January 15) at a public hearing of the state Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.
SB 2004, dubbed “Alyssa’s Law,” lays out security options that districts can employ. That list includes:
- Panic or alert buttons tied to school administration, school district staff, and emergency response providers
- Live video and audio feeds between school, district and and law enforcement
- Remote control access to doors
- Live interactive two-way communications
- Interconnection with an alert and communication system maintained by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs
Florida mom and school safety advocate Lori Alhadeff spoke in favor of SB 5004. Alhadeff is the force behind the national Alyssa’s Law initiative, urging states to pass legislation mandating that school staff wear panic buttons in schools.
“Alyssa’s Law was named for my daughter Alyssa who was one of the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre on Valentine’s Day, 2018,” Alhadeff, CEO of the national nonprofit Make Our Schools Safe, told lawmakers. “The principle of Alyssa’s Law is simple. Time equals life. We need to get our kids and teachers to safety quickly and reduce the response time of first responders. This law [supports] wearable panic technology that directly links law enforcement to a life threatening [situation] when seconds matter.”
“We want to support and empower our teachers to immediately connect to help that they need,” she added. “This critical measure helps not only during active threat situations, but also during medical emergencies, weather events, or other essential notifications to keep our kids safe.”
SB 5003 requires the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to create a new grant program to help school districts construct or enhance physical security systems in buildings. If approved, any district in Washington could apply for a grant of up to $2 million to complete eligible safety improvement projects, for example:
- Upgrading school entrance and door security
- Installing panic buttons that communicate an emergency directly to emergency services or purchasing staff-worn panic buttons that do the same job
- Adding secure fencing
- Constructing or enhancing a school infrastructure so public entering school grounds can do so through as few entrances as possible
The bill would also require districts to send update reports to OPSI on how they are doing with school safety infrastructure by October 1. OSPI would be required to compile those reports and bring findings back to lawmakers by December.
Speaking on SB 5003, OSPI representative Tyler Muench said OSPI is eager to create the grant program to help schools do what needs to be done to protect their students and staff.
“We think this bill is a common sense and politically feasible policy,” Muench said. “There are a lot of different ways we could go about protecting students, but this is something I think we could deliver pretty quickly as a state, and I think as an agency we are prepared to implement it quickly.”
“One thing I consistently hear from superintendents is that they are looking for some sort of mechanism to secure the perimeter of their facility. This bill would provide just what those superintendents have been asking for.”
While the financial cost of the two bills was not known at the time of the hearing, the bills’ sponsor, Sen. Nikki Torres (R-Pasco) told the committee that SB 5003 is not a new mandate but an enhancement of current school safety laws.
“It just gives [districts] another option on the list of items that they can implement for security. It’s not mandating them to include panic buttons but is saying you have the option to include them if you want.”
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