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New Jersey was the first state to pass what is being called
Alyssa’s Law in 2020. Six other states followed suit and 13 more
are considering similar legislation. Alyssa’s Law is named after
Alyssa Alhadeff, who was killed in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman
Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
“It ensures that schools have mobile panic alert systems
allowing staff to instantly notify law enforcement when every
second counts,” said the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Janet Yang
Rohr, D-Naperville.
Yang Rohr didn’t provide any cost estimates, but a school
district in Florida recently approved a five-year, $3.8 million
contract with a company that makes wearable panic buttons.
“What we’re talking about today does cost money but at the end
of the day, I think all of us as parents are all about student
safety," said state Rep. Will Davis, D-Hazel Crest. “In fact we
should be doing everything possible to make sure that our
children are safe.”
The law would require, for the 2026 fiscal year, the State Board
of Education to issue a competitive solicitation to contract for
a mobile panic alert system that may be used by each school
district.
While the legislation has gained momentum at the state level,
attempts to make it a federal law have been unsuccessful.
“Even as we send our children to school every single day, there
are moments when we have to confront the reality and think the
unthinkable, asking ourselves if and hoping that our children
will come home from school safe,” said Yang Rohr.
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