More states are putting panic alarms in schools

by Robbie Sequeira, West Virginia Watch
September 4, 2026

Three states this year have enacted laws that require or allow schools to use mobile, wearable, wireless or silent panic alarms to quickly summon emergency responders.

The new laws in Illinois, Virginia and West Virginia bring the number of states with such laws to 13, with 10 of them acting since 2023. Another dozen states have legislation pending.

Known as Alyssa’s Law, the measures are named for 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, one of 17 people killed during the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Make Our Schools Safe, a nonprofit founded by Alhadeff’s mother, has advocated for the legislation.

Although all the laws are grouped under the Alyssa’s Law name, they involve different technologies. While some of the laws require schools to use a particular device, others just allow schools to consider implementing some sort of emergency alert system.

Texas, for example, requires silent panic alert technology in classrooms, while Utah mandates that certain members of the school staff wear mobile alert devices. Virginia allows school boards to equip employees with wearable silent panic alarms, but doesn’t require it. The laws also differ in how the devices connect with police or other emergency responders. Funding mechanisms also differ from state to state.

The cost of such systems varies. But several years ago, the school board in Gwinnett County, Georgia, the largest in the state, approved $7 million to purchase the CrisisAlert system from CENTEGIX, an Atlanta-based technology company that provides emergency response systems to schools and hospitals. The CrisisAlert system provides school staff members with a wearable button that can be used to call for help.

A report released earlier this year by CENTEGIX found that 88% of the more than 346,000 alerts generated by its wearable panic-button systems during the 2025-2026 school year involved everyday issues such as fights and students leaving campus without permission.

Ten percent of the alerts were medical emergencies and 2% were for suspicious behavior or a campuswide emergency.

“Wearable incident response badges help reduce delays by enabling staff to discreetly initiate alerts from anywhere on campus,” the report states. “Their value comes not only from speed, but from their ability to deliver clear, reliable communication.”

But Kenneth Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, a consulting firm, said the fact that relatively few of the alerts were for emergencies suggests that schools should not be mandated to use panic buttons or similar technologies.

Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at rsequeira@stateline.org.

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.