Sign the petition to pass Alyssa's Law at the national level here.

Alyssa’s Law SB70/HB23

Alyssa’s Law addresses the issue of law enforcement response time when a life-threatening emergency occurs. The law calls for installing warning lights and a panic alarm in schools to provide the fastest possible support during a code red. In a code red, every second counts. Alyssa’s Law has now been passed in several states. Petitions have been started to ensure Alyssa's Law gets passed at the national level.

Alyssa’s Law was named after 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff,  who lost her life in the Stoneman Douglas School shooting. Investigation of the tragedy found the contributing factor in the loss of life was insufficient response time.  The Law would require all public elementary and secondary schools to install either silent panic alarms or alternative emergency mechanisms approved by The Department of Education.

Learn more about Alyssa's Law legislation in your state:

Individual State Information for Alyssa’s Law

Map Source:  https://makeourschoolssafe.org/alyssas-law/

Arizona               

Public schools; panic alarm; requirement

Status:  25% progression 

Pending the House Education Committee

Source:  https://legiscan.com/AZ/bill/HB2803/2021

Florida                  

Passed: 7/1/2020                

Summary: Alert Systems in Public Schools; Citing this act as "Alyssa’s Law"; requiring each public school to implement a mobile panic alert system for specified purposes beginning in a specified school year; authorizing public school districts to implement additional strategies and systems for specified purposes; requiring the Department of Education to issue a competitive solicitation to contract for a mobile panic alert system, subject to appropriation, etc.

Status: Passed in 2020, required statewide for the August 2021 school year.

Source:  https://makeourschoolssafe.org/alyssas-law/

Nebraska             

Summary: Provide for a statewide school panic button program

Status: Pending the Legislature Education Committee

Source:  https://legiscan.com/NE/text/LB1156/2019

New Jersey           

Effective Date: February 6, 2019

Summary:  Governor Murphy signed P.L. 2019, c. 33, Alyssa’s Law, requiring that each public elementary and secondary school building in the State be equipped with a panic alarm to alert law enforcement in the event of a school security emergency.  Alyssa’s Law provides that funding for compliance with the panic alarm requirement would be made available through the proceeds of general obligation bonds issued under the Securing Our Children’s Future Bond Act, P.L. 2018, c. 119.  Alyssa’s Law further requires that the Authority adopt rules to establish a program to effectuate the purposes of Alyssa’s Law.  

Status: Passed in 2019  

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2018/Bills/PL19/33_.HTM   

New York                             

Effective Date: May 18, 2022

Summary: Provides that each public elementary and secondary school building shall be equipped with at least one panic alarm for use in a school security emergency including, but not limited to, a non-fire evacuation, lockdown, or active shooter situation; defines terms; makes related provisions.

Status: The bill has been signed by the governor.

Status: Passed in May 2022.

Source:   https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-signs-alyssas-law

Pennsylvania

Summary: On June 22, 2018, The Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949 was amended via Act 44 of 2018 (Act 44). This law specifically requires school entities to:

• Appoint School Safety and Security Coordinators;
• Establish mandatory school safety training for school entity employees, and
• Establish standards for school police, school resource officers, and school security guards. 

Act 44 also created the School Safety and Security Committee within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), and established the Safe2Say ProgramOpens In A New Window in the Attorney General's Office. An overview of Act 44 can be found on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency's (PCCD) website. 

Act 44 further requires the development of school safety and security assessment criteria. PCCD established a School Safety and Security Committee and developed a guide with specific school safety and assessment criteria.

https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/laws/Pages/Act44.aspx

Tennessee

Alyssa’s Law PASSED in Tennessee in May 2023.

“AMENDMENT #4 adds back in House Amendment #3, which was removed by Senate Amendment #3, which adds a requirement that each district-wide school safety team and building-level school safety team consider including in the district-wide school safety plan or building-level school safety plan the implementation of a mobile panic alert system that is capable of connecting diverse emergency services technologies to ensure real-time coordination between multiple first responder agencies and that integrates with local public safety answering point infrastructure to transmit 911 calls and mobile activations.”

Source: Make Our Schools Safe

Texas                     

Alyssa’s Law PASSED in Texas in May 2023.

Learn more here.

At the Federal Level

Alyssa’s Law was introduced at the federal level by Representative Roger Williams, District 25 TX (R-TX-25)
Office Phone: (202) 225-9896

Legislative Director is Ben Johnson – johnson@mail.house.gov
Scheduler is Sara Catherine Joseph – sara.catherine.joseph@mail.house.gov

Source: https://makeourschoolssafe.org/alyssas-law/

For more information about Alyssa's Law, go to https://makeourschoolssafe.org/alyssas-law

Follow this Link to Sign Petition and Pass The Alyssa Law @ The National Level

Grants and Government Funding

The primary funding sources for school security improvements are funds from regular operating budgets, local school infrastructure bonds, and state/federal grants. The following information is primarily the grants and funds available from federal government sources.

Finding the tools and resources to identify and apply for funding can make your school safe.

Federal Resources

Schoolsafety.gov

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Department of Education (ED), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) created SchoolSafety.gov to share actionable recommendations to keep school communities safe. SchoolSafety.gov aims to help schools prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to, and recover from emergencies.

SchoolSafety.gov's Grants Finder Tool helps you find applicable funding opportunities to help keep your school community safe. The tool features a variety of Federally available school safety-specific grants that you can navigate based on a school safety topic, award amount, application level of effort, and more. As Federal agencies release school safety funding opportunities and grants throughout the year, the tool will be updated continuously to reflect these opportunities. https://www.schoolsafety.gov/grants-finder-tool

You can also explore all available grant opportunities in their Grants Library. Filter grants based on your needs or use the quick filter links to view grants infrequently searched for categories.

Source: SchoolSafety.gov

The Final Report and Finding of the Safe School Initiative
The Safe School Initiative sought to identify information that could be obtainable or "knowable" before an attack. That information would then be analyzed and evaluated to produce a factual, accurate knowledge base on targeted school attacks. This knowledge could be used to help communities across the country formulate policies and strategies aimed at preventing school-based attacks.

U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center
On July 12, 2018, the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center released Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model: An Operational Guide for Preventing Targeted School Violence to provide fundamental direction on preventing incidents of targeted school violence. The guide provides schools and communities with a framework to identify students of concern, assess their risk for engaging in violence and identify intervention strategies to mitigate that risk.

Grants.gov

Grants.gov
Federal funding opportunities published on Grants.gov are for organizations and entities supporting the development and management of government-funded programs and projects.

To search grants, go to Grants.gov

Download the Grants.gov Mobile App to search and submit on the go:

Source: Grants.gov