SF4630

Purpose

To require Minnesota schools to install wearable panic alert systems and to provide funding to help pay for them. The bill designates the measure as Alyssa’s Law and aims to improve rapid communication with emergency responders and campus-wide safety procedures.

What the bill would require

• Wearable panic alert systems at every school facility starting in the 2026-2027 school year. The system must integrate with local public safety answering point (PSAP) infrastructure to transmit 911 calls and mobile activations, and to trigger a campus-wide lockdown notification.
• Each staff member in a school facility must receive a wearable panic alert device that allows immediate contact with local emergency response agencies.
• Annual training for all school facility personnel on how to use the panic alert device and follow the safety protocol, prior to the first day of the school year.
• Security information, such as camera maps and access control information, must be accessible to local law enforcement to the extent allowed by law, with schools coordinating access protocols and retaining ownership of this information or any data generated by the panic alert system.

Who is covered and definitions

• Definitions include:
  • School: an independent or special school district, a charter school, or a nonpublic school.
  • School facility: the school building where instruction occurs and all locations where students and staff are present during the school day.

Funding and timing

• A one-time appropriation from the general fund to the Department of Education is provided to reimburse schools for the costs of implementing the panic alert system, under the applicable Minnesota law.
• The reimbursement payments will be issued in the form and manner determined by the commissioner.
• The appropriation is available until June 30, 2028.

How this changes current law

• Adds a new mandate requiring wearable panic alert systems in all Minnesota school facilities and integration with emergency communications and lockdown procedures.
• Requires annual staff training on the panic alert system.
• Establishes requirements for sharing and protecting security information with local law enforcement, including ownership and access protocols.
• Creates a dedicated funding stream to reimburse schools for these costs, effective for the specified fiscal years and tied to the panic alert system requirements.

Notable implementation details

• Systems must be capable of transmitting 911 calls and mobile activations, and initiating a campus-wide lockdown notification.
• Security information (camera maps and access control data) must be accessible to local law enforcement as allowed by law, with schools maintaining ownership of such data.

Relevant Terms wearable panic alert system; panic alert device; Alyssa’s Law; 911 calls; PSAP (local public safety answering point); campus-wide lockdown notification; school facility; school; independent or special school district; charter school; nonpublic school; camera map; access control information; security information; local law enforcement; chapter 13; Minnesota Statutes section 121A.09; Department of Education; general fund; onetime appropriation; June 30, 2028; 2026-2027 school year.