Oklahoma Alyssa’s Law’s Overview
House Bill (HB) 4073 aka Alyssa’s Law was signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt on June 14, 2024. Alyssa’s Law, named after Alyssa Alhadeff, a victim of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy, requires schools in various states to implement or consider implementing silent panic alert systems linked directly to first responders and law enforcement agencies.
Quickly gaining traction around the country, Alyssa’s Law has now been passed into law in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
Oklahoma Alyssa’s Law Requirements
Alyssa’s Law in Oklahoma, effective July 1, 2024, requires each school district in the state to implement a mobile panic alert system starting the 2024-2025 school year. The system must:
- Connect emergency service technologies to ensure real-time coordination among multiple first responder agencies; and
- Integrate with public safety answering point infrastructure to transmit 9-1-1 calls and mobile activations.
The law also required the State Board of Education to adopt a list of approved mobile panic alert systems, with approved systems being able to:
- Automatically alert designated school personnel when an emergency response is initiated on-site by smartphone application, phone call, text message, or other technology.
- Provide emergency responders with floor plans, caller location, and other information to assist during a 9-1-1 call.
- Integrate designated school personnel with emergency responders to provide real-time situational updates during an emergency.
The Oklahoma State Department of Education Board has approved Raptor Technologies as a qualified mobile panic button system supplier with whom school districts may negotiate contracts with for compliance with Alyssa’s Law.
How Raptor Supports Alyssa’s Law Compliance in Oklahoma Schools
Raptor provides multiple alerting methods to enable staff to silently and more easily expedite the call for help during emergencies, ensuring compliance with Alyssa’s Law requirements in Oklahoma. Designed to work under duress, Raptor Alert and Raptor Badge Alert provide a silent panic alert system for school staff.
The system:
- Integrates with existing digital security systems, maps, and peripherals through the Raptor Connect bi-directional integration platform, streamlining a school’s digital emergency response activations, speeding notifications, and minimizing the impact of the situation.
- Is compatible with all standard Public Safety Answering Points and emergency calling infrastructure, and is RapidSOS Ready, accelerating the transfer of critical emergency alert data to 911 and with first responders during emergencies.
- Users can initiate an alert and send critical information to 911 from any alerting device, including wearable badges, integrated technologies, the Raptor Alert mobile panic app, and desktop computers, eliminating the need for a cellular connection and avoiding the risk of an audible phone call.
- Delivers situation-specific notifications through text, phone, email, desktop alerts, strobes, PA systems, monitors, and push notifications, ensuring staff receive critical updates instantly.
- Enables critical communication. Once the alert is initiated, the Raptor Alert app enables real-time group messaging, allowing teams to stay in touch and share critical information throughout an incident, including precise locations, reducing stress and improving outcomes.
In harmony with Raptor Emergency Management, the system also provides schools access to Drill Manager and full Accountability and Reunification capabilities.
Schools and districts using our ecosystem of school safety software experience significant impact on overall student wellbeing, emergency preparedness, streamlined communication, and collaboration.
Funding for Oklahoma Alyssa’s Law Panic Alert Systems
The FY25 COPS SVPP grant program provides $73M to school boards and districts nationwide and includes “technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency” as an allowable expense. Additionally, schools who were awarded funds from FY24 federal grant programs such as COPS SVPP, BJA STOP, and the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSP) have until 2027 to spend their awarded funds.
At the state-level, the School Security Revolving Fund established under HB 2903 and HB 2904 includes physical security enhancements as allowable expenses, suggesting that mobile panic alert systems could be eligible for reimbursement.
Want to learn more about how Raptor can help your district or school comply with Alyssa’s Law in Oklahoma? Schedule a demo today!
Related Resources
For a broader approach to campus safety beyond panic button systems, read our blog on Strengthening School Safety with Multilayer Security.
