A School Emergency Notification System Provides Critical Protection

Alyssa’s Law is proposed Texas legislation designed to improve law enforcement’s response times in the event of an emergency at public schools. It requires that public elementary and secondary schools must be supplied with silent panic alarms that directly notify law enforcement. 

Named after Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old student that died at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 in a mass school shooting event along with 16 other people, the law was passed in New Jersey and Florida and is pending in New York, Arizona, Nebraska, and Texas. 

When integrated into an emergency notification system, these panic buttons provide superior peace of mind and protection when every second counts. Let’s look at what these systems can offer schools in Katy, TX.

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Rapid Notifications & Quick Response

During an emergency, a school must communicate quickly and efficiently with first responders, administrators, staff, parents, and guardians. Real-time active crisis events require immediate action that can save students and staff from harm. Emergency notification systems are designed to do just that, monitoring and supplying concise and reliable information to the people who need it the most. 

Staff can initiate audio and visual alerts when an emergency occurs, such as a severe weather event, intruder on campus, active shooter situation, or natural disaster. Pressing a panic button also sends a notification to law enforcement that an emergency event is underway, where it's located within the school, and the type of threat. 

Additionally, it lets teachers, the main office, and security know that a critical event is occurring, improving the chances that students and staff can get out of harm’s way. When integrated with the latest lockdown technology, classrooms are immediately protected, and teachers respond with lights-out and out-of-sight directives.

Getting the Message Out

The notification system initiates prerecorded or live voice messages to PA speakers when activated. Recorded messages may remind staff and students of the actions to take in the current emergency, such as a code red that translates to go to your classroom and into lockdown.

These systems can be programmed to send SMS text notifications, emails, and calls to a group of people, whether security, parents, guardians, or staff. It can also send messages to LED message boards located in classrooms. Panic buttons can initiate prerecorded messages and give police access to real-time video surveillance footage. Dispatchers continue to track the intruder, giving police step-by-step instructions on where to locate them upon their arrival. 

In today’s current climate, it’s recommended that each classroom has access to panic buttons as well as the cafeteria, library, gym, and administrators’ offices. These systems can also connect to sirens and strobes, alerting staff and students of a physical threat. To limit false alarms, most panic buttons require holding for a set number of seconds so that accidentally pressing the button with not activate the alert. 

Your Trusted School Security Expert

Systems like paging, bells, access control, video surveillance, and emergency notification systems work together to provide a safe and secure school. We’re committed to protecting Texans with the latest proven security measures. To learn about emergency response systems and other security options or to schedule a site survey, contact ASAP Security Services today.