Named for Alyssa Alhadeff, one of seventeen students killed on February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Alyssa’s Law is bipartisan legislation that aims to improve law enforcement response time to a life-threatening emergency.

On June 23, 2022, New York passed Senate Bill S7132B, also referred to as Alyssa’s Law, authorizing school boards to “include information regarding the installation of a panic alarm system” when districts are revisiting their school safety plans. To read the complete Senate Bill S7132B, click here.

Versions of Alyssa’s Law have also passed in Florida, New Jersey, and, most recently, Tennessee and Texas with bipartisan support.

An additional six states have introduced Alyssa’s law legislation, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, and Virginia, as well as the U.S. Congress.

Silent Panic Alert Technology (SPAT) enables school staff to communicate quickly and directly with all law enforcement near their schools. This can save precious minutes in an active shooter situation and allow immediate police response. “I am proud to put pen to paper on Alyssa’s Law, a real and meaningful piece of legislation that will require school districts to evaluate systems that can save precious minutes—and lives,” said Governor Hochul.

Silent Panic Alarm Technology (SPAT) is an alert system that can be triggered discreetly, such as a wearable alarm button. New York has the opportunity to help lead the way in school safety by mandating schools have the tools they need to keep students safe without disrupting the learning environment.

S7132B defines “panic alarm systems” as “a silent security system signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a life-threatening or emergency situation requiring a response from law enforcement. These school safety solutions may include one or more of the following: 

The Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) Act requires schools to take concrete measures to promote “safe learning environments where students and teachers work collaboratively in pursuit of academic excellence and social and emotional growth,”— in other words: implement school safety plans. The SAVE Act also covers staff training in school violence and prevention, incident reporting obligations, and other regulations aimed at supporting schools.

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) provides guidance for school safety plans on: Prevention, Mitigation, Protection, Response, and Recovery. It requires that schools detail procedures and processes around emergencies and resources. 

The NYSED also mandates that schools determine how best to incorporate school safety officers and/or school resource officers into New York school safety plans and ideal security devices or procedures. 

The New York State Center for School Safety (NYSCSS) provides support for districts seeking to meet SAVE Act standards. NYSCSS can assist schools looking to update and submit their building-level emergency response plans. The organization can also provide guidance for administrators working to identify and evaluate New York school alert systems for their buildings.

School Safety and Crisis Response: Understanding Alyssa’s Law for New York