What is Alyssa's Law? Move named after Alyssa Alhadeff will see silent panic alarms in schools
Albany legislators passed a law on Saturday, June 4, that requires school districts statewide to consider installing silent panic alarms. In the wake of the deadly Uvalde massacre, 'Alyssa’s Law' aims to ensure law enforcement authorities are alerted in case of emergencies. “Schools should be a safe place for our kids to learn and grow,” said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie in a statement announcing the bill’s passage.
A deadly massacre unfolded at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde on May 24 when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos barricaded himself inside a classroom and slaughtered 19 students and two teachers. Police faced sharp criticism for allegedly failing to stop the shooting quickly enough and come to the victims' rescue on time. In fact, a victim bled to death as she waited for police to come to the rescue, a first-responder allegedly told her mother. The child reportedly waited for nearly an hour for cops to arrive, but eventually succumbed to her injuries possibly because of the delay. The first-responder reportedly claimed the child may have lived if the police had been quicker. It was reported that they did not breach the school for more than 90 minutes after arriving on the campus where Salvador Ramos was ruthlessly killing the children. Ramos was ultimately shot dead by an off-duty Customs and Border Protection agent from an elite tactical unit.
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What is Alyssa’s Law?
Alyssa’s Law seeks to improve the response time of law enforcement during emergencies in public schools. It makes it mandatory for all public elementary and secondary school buildings to be equipped with silent panic alarms to directly contact law enforcement during emergencies.
Under Alyssa’s Law, each school district’s safety teams will have to seriously consider installing panic alarm systems and other direct communication technologies. This will be part of the teams' mandatory regular reviews of safety plans. Earlier, the measure had passed in the state Senate. It is now heading to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
Alyssa’s Law was named after Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, who was shot dead in 2018 during the Parkland, Florida school shooting. On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 17 people were murdered in the massacre.
Alhadeff’s family had been pushing for the bill to be passed in New York for as many as three years. It already exists in New Jersey and Florida while some schools in New York use panic buttons.
Fabien Levy, a spokesman for Mayor Eric Adams, said that at present, the city does not require panic buttons in Big Apple schools. The measure, however, will be reviewed. “Our children’s safety is our top priority, which is why all our public schools have School Safety Agents assigned to them,” Levy said, reported New York Post. “SAAs are members of the NYPD and, thus, our schools already have a direct line to police in case of an emergency. We don’t believe there is a need for legislation to supplement the good work we’re already doing in New York City public schools, but we will review this legislation.”
