PCCD Grant Deadline: Plan for School Emergency Alerts Ahead of Alyssa’s Law
Plan the funding now for school emergency communications.
Aug 12, 2024
The PCCD School Safety and Security Grant Program is open until Thursday, September 26, 2024 for safety-related activities. With Alyssa’s Law making its way through the Pennsylvania House, now is the time to plan the funding for your school emergency communications.
Alyssa's Law is named after 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, who was tragically killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting. The law mandates the installation of silent panic alarms in schools to directly connect with law enforcement, improving emergency response times. Already enacted in six states, including New York and New Jersey, it is now progressing in Pennsylvania. The bill would require all public schools to install these alarms and conduct regular training. The law aims to fill gaps in current school safety measures.
Schools would need to allocate resources for these systems, with potential state and federal funding available. Implementing Alyssa’s Law in Pennsylvania could significantly enhance school safety by reducing response times during emergencies.
Under Article 12 of the PCCD school safety grant, special emergency communications equipment is considered an eligible security-related technology. This would cover panic alarms, help buttons and emergency notification intercom systems.
A product that we like is Telecor’s eSeries Public Address and Intercom Solution. This is because many schools already use Telecor for public address, such as bells, clocks and paging; adding panic alarms to that same notification network is typically an expedient upgrade. However, what we really like is the real-time map-based reporting. In an event of a school-wide emergency, you can see immediately which classrooms have triggered the panic button, which classrooms have marked themselves as safe, and which have signaled that they have evacuated. Telecor integrates nicely with the Genetec security platform too, so law enforcement can instantly gain that same visibility.
Please do reach out to us if you need pricing or any other physical security information for your grant application. We service schools across Western PA and are deeply familiar with their needs. You can check out our K-12 portfolio at www.descomm.com/k-12
