WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer has introduced a bipartisan bill to require silent alarms in schools nationwide in honor of former resident Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old killed during the Feb. 14, 2018 school massacre in Florida.
Joined by Alyssa’s parents Lori and Ilan Alhadeff on July 30, Gottheimer stood on the soccer field at Woodcliff Lake Historic Park—Alyssa was an avid soccer player and was captain of her traveling team—to announce the legislation called Alyssa’s Legacy Youth in School Safety Act—or the ALYSSA Act—which will mandate installation of silent panic alarms in schools receiving federal education funds and facilitate hiring of school resource officers nationwide.
School resource officers are specially trained armed officers who work full-time in schools and provide proactive student support and resources.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed Alyssa’s Law in March to mandate installation of silent panic alarms in elementary and secondary schools.
Funding for installation will soon be available through grants under the Securing Our Children’s Future Bond Act, passed by New Jersey voters in November 2018.
Some districts statewide, including Woodcliff Lake, have already installed the silent panic alarms to alert police in case of an active shooter situation.
Gottheimer’s bill follows on the heels of the School Violence Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2019 (HR3665), introduced in mid-July by U.S. Reps. Roger Williams (R-Texas) and Ted Deutch (D-Florida).
That bill requires all public schools nationwide to install at least one silent panic alarm, which can immediately alert the nearest law enforcement agency of an active shooter.
That bill would create a fund of $2 billion for security grants to pay for risk assessments and security improvements.
“I know that Alyssa spent a lot of time on this soccer field around here,” said Gottheimer, July 30 under a bright hot sun.
He said that along with New York State Assemblywoman Elise Stefanik he would introduce the ALYSSA Act in the House of Representatives on Aug. 1.
He said 98,000 public schools nationwide will be required to install silent alarms, and also help facilitate funds for more school resource officers in public schools.
He said shootings in Illinois and Maryland last year were thwarted by school resource officers.
“Investing in school resource officers is simply common sense,” Gottheimer said, noting funds for such officers is also available through a federal program called COPS—or Community Oriented Policing Services, part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Gottheimer said 27 percent of schools nationwide use silent panic alarms to alert law enforcement.
“That number is entirely too low and that’s why we’re going to fix this with legislation,” Gottheimer said. “There’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to end gun violence and ensure that our schools are safe. We all have a lot of work to do.”
‘Time equals life’
Alyssa’s mom, Lori Alhadeff, said the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was “a multitude of failures at so many levels. We know that lives could have been saved that day if help was there faster,” she said.
She added, “Time equals life, seconds matter.”
Ilan Alhadeff, Alyssa’s father, called New Jersey “the pioneer” for passing Alyssa’s Law, mandating silent panic alarms in New Jersey schools.
“Are there any more valuable jewels than our kids and teachers in our schools?” he asked.
“School shootings are over in six minutes or less and we need to make sure communication happens as quickly as possible so law enforcement can neutralize the threat,” he said.
He added that Alyssa “was a leader and she would want to be a catalyst for change.”
Gottheimer said it would cost about $1,000 per school to install silent panic alarms and more funding would be available for school resource officers, in addition to funding through the COPS program.
No new funds detailed
A press statement from Gottheimer’s office was unclear about funding for either initiative.
The statement said under the bill schools receiving Title I federal funds will be required to install silent alarms, at approximately $1,000 per school.
It listed no new separate funds or funding sources to be created by the bill.
Moreover, in addition to COPS grants for hiring school resource officers, the legislation promised to “cut federal red tape to provide specially designated investment in bringing trained SROs to all schools, without having to meet complicated and changing standards from the U.S. Department of Justice.”
Make Our Schools Safe
The Alhadeffs have begun Make Our Schools Safe, a 501(c) 3 organization, dedicated to protecting students and teachers at school. According to their website, “Our mission is to improve the safety of schools, research and test best practices, as well as implement those protocols by creating model schools, beginning in South Florida and spreading nationwide.”
Council President Jacqueline Gadaleta kicked off Gottheimer’s press event, saying, “We must protect our residents, our families and our children.”
She said Gottheimer’s efforts are critical to student safety.
Later, she said, “Common sense is exactly what this bill represents for the safety of our children throughout the country. There is no dollar amount that wouldn’t be worth this silent alarm set up in every school.”
