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.

In March 2023, the Amarillo Police Department reported multiple shots fired in north Amarillo, TX, with one stray bullet inflicting minor injuries on a student at Palo Duro High School. In response, Hamlet Elementary and Palo Duro High School went into lockdown to ensure the safety of the students and faculty. 

Securing campuses and protecting students and staff has been an ever-increasing priority of Texas schools, escalating since the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and many incidents in other states prior to that. Schools are re-evaluating their security measures with safety upgrades, including secured entrances, reinforced access points, enhanced surveillance systems, and intrusion detection.

Here, we’ll look at the features inherent in intrusion detection and how it helps protect schools.

Campus administrators are tasked with the Texas-sized job of providing safe and effective learning environments. The students, faculty, and staff spend more time on your school property than most full-time employees are in their offices! Unfortunately, modern schools face safety issues that previous generations simply couldn’t fathom. To provide school-wide protection, your campus, whether it’s in Lubbock or Houston, needs a security plan overhaul.

ASAP Security Services provides remote monitoring and several other security services that can help you adapt your campus to protect your students and teachers. Want to learn how remote monitoring services can add peace of mind and reduce operational frustrations? Keep reading below!

At most schools, surveillance cameras are only checked when there’s already been a reported incident. That can de-escalate a situation or identify a suspect, but by the time the cameras are checked, it’s too late to prevent anything from happening. 

How can school security staff prevent situations from reaching that point? 

There are two ways to get ahead of emergencies: through on-site or remote video monitoring. If your Amarillo, TX, school doesn’t currently have a monitoring process in place, here are two methods you can use to better protect your students.