Nearly eight years after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to implement national standards for school safety to prevent future emergencies.
Led by Utah Rep. Burgess Owens, the group hopes to pass Alyssa’s Act, which would enact federal guidelines for school safety measures and update technology to ensure all schools are equipped with the resources needed to get help from law enforcement in an emergency. The bill builds on what is known as Alyssa’s Law, already passed by a handful of states, including Utah, to instead create a nationwide standard.
“(This will) help provide states and school districts across the country with some of the best evidence based practices, resources and tools available to help make sure our students are safe,” Owens said at a press event on Tuesday alongside parents whose children died in the 2018 shooting.
The bill is named after Alyssa Alhadeff, who was just 14 years old when she was shot and killed during the Parkland school shooting, during which a total of 17 people died and 17 others were wounded. Alhadeff’s parents endorsed the bill on Tuesday, calling it crucial to ensure no other child dies in the same way their daughter did.
“Alyssa didn’t have a chance. She wasn’t alerted fast enough, and students didn’t know to get into their safety protocols,” Lori Alhadeff, Alyssa’s mother, said. “By the time help arrived, it was too late. Had a lockdown been initiated sooner, our precious Alyssa … might be with us here today.”
Alyssa’s Law: What does it do?
The bill would create a stronger safety standard by encouraging every school to install panic buttons, guaranteeing “effective and efficient” digital maps for first responders, and establishing a centralized school safety data center.
It would also ensure federal support for local schools through the Department of Homeland Security to prevent or quickly respond to emergencies.
Those alarm systems, the parents argue, would ensure that schools can silently notify law enforcement officers of an emergency situation and expedite response times.
“I can’t say enough about these parents, the founders of Make Our Schools Safe,” Owens said, referring to the nonprofit organization created by Alhadeff’s parents after the 2018 shooting. “I want to thank you for this mission. I have 18 grandchildren in Utah, and what they’re doing now has an impact on them, and it will make sure that parents do not have to go through the pain that these parents are going through.”