CENTEGIX | Education
Louisiana School Safety Standards
CENTEGIX | Education
Louisiana School Safety Standards
Louisiana SB207: School Safety Act of 2023
On August 1, 2023, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed the School Safety Act into effect. This legislation requires schools to increase emergency preparedness and enact crisis management response plans. The bill also provides funding for Louisiana school alert systems.
Louisiana’s School Safety Act (Senate Bill 207) results from collaboration between Louisiana students and lawmakers. Senator Barry Milligan said he crafted Senate Bill 207 with input from the Youth Legislative Advisory Council. This panel of students informed legislators that their emergency drills did not account for incidents outside of classrooms. The council requested improvements to school responses to mass shooting incidents.
The Louisiana School Safety Act requires school districts to:
Develop and enact school crisis management and response plans.
Implement a panic emergency notification system.
Train designated employees on traumatic injury response and related liabilities.
Enact additional safety drills.
Make bleeding control kits available in every school.
State Funding Supports School Safety Purchases
This new legislation makes funding available for Louisiana school safety solutions. The current Louisiana state budget includes $8.9 million for enhanced school safety measures related to school shootings. The most significant portion, $5 million, would pay for security equipment, such as surveillance cameras, safety training, and expanded drills. A $1.6 million portion is set aside to provide teachers with “panic buttons” to signal an emergency. Therefore, districts can invest in Louisiana school alert systems designed to improve communication with 911 and first responders, quickly enact safety protocols, and support staff in emergency situations.
What is a Panic Emergency Notification System?
A panic emergency notification system is an alert system that can be triggered discreetly, such as a wearable panic button. Louisiana and several other states are leading the way in school safety by mandating schools have the tools they need to keep students safe without disrupting the learning environment. Panic emergency notification systems:
Empower teachers and staff.
Save the lives of Louisiana students, teachers, and school staff.
Speed up emergency response.
Utilize existing Louisiana school safety solutions funding.
Achieving SB207 Compliance with CrisisAlert™
CENTEGIX CrisisAlert technology improves communication with first responders, empowers staff members to request assistance, and makes school buildings more secure. The CENTEGIX CrisisAlert safety solution fulfills the purpose of the Louisiana School Safety Act: to decrease emergency response times and better prepare staff and students for emergencies. The following capabilities make CENTEGIX CrisisAlert an effective Louisiana school alert system:
Reliable technology
No Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity is required.
Real-time coordination
Real-time coordination among multiple first responder agencies, including county, local, and on-site responders.
Immediate connection
Enables immediate connection to diverse emergency service technologies.
Local integrations
Integration with local public safety answering points to transmit 911 calls and mobile activations.
100% staff adoption
Teachers need not download an app.
Grants for Louisiana School Safety Solutions
Stronger Connections Grant
In late 2022, the U.S. Department of Education announced nearly $1 billion in awards through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) in the form of Stronger Connections grants. Through the BSCA, Congress awarded $1 billion in funding to state educational agencies (SEAs) to develop state grant programs to give students safer and healthier learning environments. The BSCA specifies that SEAs must award these funds competitively to high-need LEAs, as determined by the state.
This grant focuses on helping schools foster sustained learning, engagement, and attachment for students in Louisiana schools. The Stronger Connections Grant Program mandates schools to accomplish this by becoming more resilient, supporting mental health, and improving school climate.
According to the Department of Education, schools should spend Stronger Connections Grant Program funds to:
- Implement evidence-based strategies that meet students’ social, emotional, and mental well-being needs.
- Create positive, inclusive, and supportive school environments.
- Increase access to place-based interventions and services.
- Engage students, families, educators, staff, and community organizations in selecting and implementing strategies to create safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments.
- Design and implement policies and practices responsive to underserved students, protecting student rights, and demonstrating respect for student dignity and potential.
Spending that qualifies for funding could include hiring counselors and nurses, providing teacher training on inclusion and behavioral interventions, expanding mental and behavioral services, and other related efforts to create a positive and supportive climate in Louisiana schools.
The Louisiana Department of Education is directing $21 million in Stronger Connections Grant money to ensure all schools have a secure single entry point. In addition to single-point entries, the Stronger Connections Grant Program funds the purchase and implementation of the following:
- surveillance cameras
- access control systems
- metal detectors
- other physical security equipment or construction renovations to enhance security at a single point of entry
SchoolSafety.gov also provides information about agency programs and contacts that can help Louisiana schools build school safety plans.
ESSER Funds
As part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were made available to address the pandemic’s impact on student safety and mental well-being. As of July 2023, Louisiana has spent 45.7% of the funds awarded to the state.
An additional round of funding was made available as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Louisiana’s portion of those ESSER funds is $2,607,334,054, and the obligation deadline is Sept. 30, 2024.
COPS School Violence Prevention Program
The U.S. Department of Justice oversees the COPS School Violence Prevention Program. This program earmarks funding for evidence-based school safety programs and technology. Schools can use COPS funds to purchase school safety technology that helps identify potential dangers. The money can also be used to improve emergency notification and response systems. To learn more, visit the COPS website.
BJA’s STOP School Violence Program
The U.S. Department of Justice has also made funds available through the Bureau of Justice Assistance. BJA’s STOP School Violence Program funds the purchase of software that helps K-12 schools maintain a safe environment. This program is geared toward recognizing, responding to, and preventing violence on campus. Learn more here.
Federal Grants
The Louisiana Department of Education has received federal funding for a variety of specific programs:
- The state was awarded $3,617,474,399 for fiscal year 2024. These funds are earmarked for Title I teaching for children from low-income families, special education services, childcare, professional development for educators, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers, and much more. This $3.6 billion also includes ESSER and ARPA funds.
How Are Your Resources Being Spent?
CENTEGIX protects over 11,500 schools across the country. We can protect your school, too.
The CENTEGIX Safety Platform™, featuring CrisisAlert™, accelerates your response to emergencies. We’ve built the CENTEGIX Safety Platform to support you in the single most critical factor of incident response: time. Because in an emergency, every second matters.
Discover federal resources to fund new safety and security initiatives in your district by exploring federal funding resources for school safety.
Hear from Our Educators
We engage with teachers and staff every day to understand how CrisisAlert supports them, and here’s what they’ve shared:
A student was having trouble breathing and her vision was beginning to black out. We don’t have service in our building and it can be difficult to get ahold of the office staff, so having something to immediately alert them of emergency was incredibly helpful in a very scary situation.
I had a student who was refusing to follow directions and became very defiant. This student was beginning to get aggressive. I used my badge to alert our campus security monitor to remove the student from the situation. It is a very useful tool when the response was as immediate as it was.
A student was having a severe panic attack, trouble speaking, crying, not able to answer my questions as to what was wrong with her. I used the device to call for administrative help and it worked like it was designed to. Help arrived in a matter of seconds. I saw firsthand how well it works.
The Safety Platform™ Meets Grant-Funded Safety Measures
The CENTEGIX Safety Platform is an emergency incident response safety system that features wearable panic buttons, digital mapping software, and reunification and visitor management capabilities and generates accurate, usable data. The Safety Platform solution uses visual strobes, digital messages, and automated intercom announcements to inform everyone of a campus-wide incident and to instruct them on actions they should take. The Safety Platform meets the security infrastructure needs the Louisiana school safety grants aim to address.
The Safety Platform features an analytics dashboard that assists administrators as they make safety and security decisions. A data set is generated when a staff member uses their wearable badge to request assistance. Administrators can better understand where and why and under what conditions. These administrative decisions, enabled by Platform data, contribute to the “positive and safe climate” that the safety grants aim to foster.
The CENTEGIX school safety platform provides robust and uninterrupted communication between staff members, administrators, first responders, and students. Unlike other emergency incident response systems, the Safety Platform’s technology precludes adoption and connectivity challenges. It runs on a dedicated IoT network; it’s not susceptible to Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity interruptions. And because the CrisisAlert mobile panic button is worn along with an ID badge, 100% of staff members use it. This high adoption rate means that every staff member at every location on campus can request help when they need it. CrisisAlert generates accurate location data for every alert, no matter where on campus. Therefore first responders know exactly where to go during an emergency. In many instances, this kind of rapid response can prevent tragedy.
These critical features of the CrisisAlert badge and Safety Blueprint from CENTEGIX ensure an immediate response:
Desktop takeover notifications for staff mean campus-wide alerts are never missed.
Location accuracy enables rapid response.
The system immediately connects the parties best prepared to handle the situation.
Wi-Fi and phone outages have no effect on the system.
Wearable security badges are easily accessible, lightweight, and wearable.
CENTEGIX Safety Platform can help school districts and LEAs enact these measures, making students and staff safer. The Safety platform school safety solution helps create a climate of safety by enabling staff members to request help immediately, from anywhere on campus, in any type of emergency. Under these conditions, teachers can focus on student needs, and students can focus on learning.
CENTEGIX is the leader in incident response solutions. Our Safety Platform is the fastest and easiest way for staff to request help in any emergency, from the everyday to the extreme. CENTEGIX creates safer spaces by innovating technology to empower and protect people, and leaders nationwide trust our safety solutions to provide peace of mind.
Championing Safe Schools with Educators and Educator Associations
Discover the Safety Platform
Safety solutions that prioritize speed for the best outcome.
Mapping and locating capabilities provide the precise location—of emergencies, visitors, and safety assets.
A visitor management system screens and locates visitors on your campus.
Protocol development to plan for rapid incident response.
CENTEGIX CrisisAlert vs. Mobile Apps
CrisisAlert eliminates vulnerabilities related to app-only solutions and enables rapid incident response to all emergencies.
In an Emergency, You Need CrisisAlert™
Adverse situations can happen at any moment—from everyday crises such as medical emergencies, severe weather, and physical altercations to extreme situations that threaten your entire campus. The faster you get help to the right location, the better the outcome.
See how our CrisisAlert wearable mobile panic button empowers staff to get help instantly in an emergency.
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