In Savannah, Georgia, a shooting incident at Apalachee High School highlighted the urgent necessity to enhance school safety protocols.
Now, a new Georgia law going into effect on Tuesday would make installing panic alert systems in the state’s public schools mandatory.
Senate Bill 17, titled ‘Ricky and Alyssa’s law,’ mandates that all public K-12 schools in Georgia must implement mobile panic alert systems. These systems, accessible to teachers and administrators, will notify emergency personnel and law enforcement about the exact location of an emergency when activated.
Additionally, schools are obligated to furnish law enforcement with updated digital maps of their buildings to facilitate quicker responses during emergencies.
The bill was named after school shooting victims: Richard Aspinwall, killed in last year’s Apalachee High School shooting in Georgia and Alyssa Alhadeff, killed in the 2019 Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting in Florida.
“As the husband of a teacher and father to three school-aged daughters, I feel an obligation to ensure the protection of families across our state. This legislation will help law enforcement respond swiftly in times of crisis,” said Sen. Jason Anavitarte back in January when the bill was first introduced.
Similar legislations have been enacted in more than ten other states.
