After the tragic death of Alyssa Alhadeff, alongside 16 of her fellow students, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018, numerous legislators have diligently worked on increasing school safety throughout their respective states.  These new school safety bills have been given the moniker “Alyssa’s Law” in honor of Alhadeff.  The law aims to provide additional layers of protection utilizing security personnel as well as integrating silent panic alert technology on campuses to prevent or stop potential threats, as well as increase response times for emergency responders during emergency situations.

As of 2024, various forms of Alyssa’s Law have been passed in five states and are pending legislation in seven other states, with more to states to follow.  In Texas, the state legislature went to work on their own version of the bill, and in 2023 Governor Greg Abbott signed important legislation into law that takes full effect in 2024.  This legislation took form in Texas House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 838.  

Texas House Bill 3 amended Texas’ Public Education School Finance and Fiscal Management Code to allocate funds for school districts’ safety and security.  In particular, Section 48.115 allocates funds for “door locking systems“, “security cameras“, “video surveillance,” and
“communication systems or devices, such as silent panic devices.“

Senate Bill 838 amended Texas’ Public Education Code’s Safe Schools Code to mandate school districts provide all classrooms in the state with silent panic technology.

In addition, Governor Abbott signed an executive order back in 2022 transferring $105 million into additional school funding—$17.1 million of which was allocated specifically for silent panic alert technology.