School Safety Mandates and Guidelines Driving Adoption

In recent years, a combination of state legislation and expert security guidelines have strongly encouraged schools and other public facilities to implement panic and duress alarm systems. High-profile incidents and advocacy by safety organizations have led to new laws – often known collectively as “Alyssa’s Law” – focused on getting panic alarms into schools for quicker law enforcement response. At the same time, industry groups like the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) have included duress alarms as a key recommendation in their safety best practices. Administrators should be aware of these developments, as they not only underscore the importance of panic buttons but may also come with funding opportunities or compliance requirements.

Connecticut’s New Legislation: In 2025, Connecticut took a significant step to encourage panic buttons in schools. The state passed Senate Bill 1216 – “An Act Concerning School Emergency Response Systems”, inspired by the advocacy of local high school students. This legislation makes panic alarm systems and emergency communication devices eligible for state school security grants, freeing up funding for districts that want to install these life-saving systems. Connecticut’s School Security Infrastructure Grant Program, initially created after the Sandy Hook tragedy, now explicitly includes panic buttons and mobile emergency alert devices as items schools can acquire with grant support. Lawmakers were motivated by evidence that such systems save lives – including an incident in Georgia where a school’s panic fob system likely prevented greater loss of life during a shooting by enabling a faster police response. While Connecticut’s law stops short of outright requiring every school to have panic alarms, it sends a clear message that the state values this technology and is willing to help fund it. As of 2025, there was $20 million in unallocated school security funds that schools can tap into for panic alarm implementation. School administrators in CT should thus be looking at these grants to upgrade their emergency response systems, both to enhance safety and to align with the state’s direction.

Florida and Alyssa’s Law: Florida was one of the early adopters of a school panic alarm mandate in the wake of the Parkland school shooting. In 2020, Florida enacted its version of Alyssa’s Law, named in memory of Alyssa Alhadeff (a student killed at Parkland). This law requires every public elementary and secondary school in Florida to implement a mobile panic alert system that can silently and directly communicate with law enforcement during emergencies. Essentially, by the 2021 school year all Florida schools needed a system (often a mobile app-based panic button) to instantly notify police of a life-threatening campus incident. The state’s Department of Education was directed to facilitate a unified solution, leading many districts to adopt mobile panic apps or wearable alarm technology to comply with the law. The goal of Alyssa’s Law is to eliminate any delays – when a teacher activates the panic alarm, the call for help goes straight to law enforcement (bypassing intermediate steps) so officers can respond as fast as possible. Other states have followed suit: New Jersey passed Alyssa’s Law in 2019, New York in 2022, and more states (Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Oregon, Washington, and others through 2024–25) have adopted similar requirements or funding programs. School leaders in any state should check if there’s a panic alarm mandate or grant in place. For example, New Jersey’s law requires a silent panic alarm in each school that is directly linked to local police, and it even specifies that the system must be installed by a certified security professional in that state’s guidelines. Florida’s and New Jersey’s mandates helped set a new norm: it’s becoming expected that schools have a rapid alert system beyond just calling 911, and those that don’t may risk non-compliance (where laws exist) or liability exposure.

PASS Guidelines: Independent of laws, the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) has been a thought leader in advocating for panic/duress alarms as part of a layered school security strategy. PASS is a collaboration of security industry experts and school officials who publish best-practice Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools. In these guidelines, PASS explicitly recommends duress alarm capabilities at various security tiers. Even at a basic level (Tier 1), PASS suggests that at least a panic button for office staff should be in place to alert law enforcement of a major incident. This means, minimally, the front desk or main office of a school should have a button to summon police in case of an emergency like an intruder. At higher security tiers, PASS guidelines expand that recommendation to include a panic/duress button in every classroom (whether a wired button or a wireless fob) so that any teacher under threat can immediately call for helps. They also emphasize training – staff must be trained on using the duress buttons and test them regularly, to ensure the system and the people are ready to perform if tragedy strikes.

In the latest 7th Edition of the PASS guidelines (released 2025), the organization increased its focus on panic alarm systems. Citing the lessons learned from recent school emergencies, PASS added expanded guidance on duress and panic alarms as “an important solution” for school safety. They stress integration: a duress alarm shouldn’t function in isolation, but rather trigger coordinated responses (as discussed earlier, like camera call-up, notifications, and so forth). PASS experts note that when duress is implemented as a life safety component, it should be unified with other security technologies to work together in real-time. Another PASS recommendation is about location accuracy – if using mobile panic devices, they urge schools to deploy systems that can pinpoint the alert origin within a few yards, so responders know exactly where to go. All these guidelines from PASS serve as an educational resource for administrators: even if your state law doesn’t yet require panic buttons, the prevailing expert advice is that they are a wise investment and have become a standard feature of a well-secured school.

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