NEW JERSEY—State funding to install silent panic alarms at elementary and secondary schools statewide—part of Alyssa’s Law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in February—may be made available by late summer or early fall, but how much is uncertain, say state education officials.
Approximately $350 million was set aside in the November 2018 Securing Our Children’s Future Bond Act—out of a total $500 million—which also provided funds for expanding county vocational-technical programs, improving school water infrastructure including lead abatement, and assisting county colleges.
Under the Bond Act, the state Schools Development Authority was tasked with funding and managing installation of school panic alarms with NJDOE support.
Oftentimes, school officials contract to have security upgrades completed over the summer, with security improvements in place by September.
That can still occur, said state officials, as alarms installed under Alyssa’s Law are eligible for Bond Act reimbursement once funds are released.
Alyssa’s Law was passed in honor of Alyssa Alhadeff, one of 17 people killed during a mass shooting in February 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla, and a former Woodcliff Lake resident.
Alyssa’s Law mandates installation of silent alarms at state schools and provides a funding mechanism via 2018’s Securing Our Children’s Future Bond Act.
While state Bond Act funds will not be available until fall, state education officials are currently surveying educators, parents and administrators statewide to get a better sense of how to prioritize and disburse funding from the Bond Act.
Schools’ security survey
Tenafly Public Schools’ website offered a link to the state education department’s survey regarding Alyssa’s Law and local school security needs—one among likely hundreds of school websites that link to the state survey, said a state DOE spokesman.
“We’re working [with] stakeholders to get a better understanding of the needs. Besides performing the outreach survey, DOE is also meeting with experts and will be doing additional engagement efforts with stakeholders,” said Michael Yaple, a DOE spokesman.
Yaple said no final decisions have been made regarding what amount of funds will be disbursed to cover school security projects. Asked what amount of funds would be allocated for Alyssa’s Law panic alarms, Yaple said “that is part of the (public) engagement.”
The law requires the alarms meet industry standards including the National Fire Protection Association and Underwriters Laboratories and that they are installed by a licensed installer.
The DOE survey asks five questions, including whether respondents were aware of Alyssa’s Law, and provides an opportunity to select what security areas they believe are being handled well by the local district.
Specific security needs?
One question provides a space for a write-in response, asking for “specific school security measures [you] would like to see put in place or improved in your area schools.”
Other queries ask survey takers to check boxes of areas where school security is doing well or needs improvement, including access to building, reunification procedures, visitor policy, frequency of drills, alarms, communication plan, after school/event security, and identification system.
Although online surveys listed a deadline of June18, Yaple said via email it was unclear when NJDOE would conclude its public comment period.
“We couldn’t say the exact date the outreach will be concluded, but the department is looking to address this matter as quickly and efficiently as possible. Our goal is to have [grant] applications ready by late summer or early fall,” said Yaple.
“We sent out surveys to all school districts, and asked school officials to respond and asked them to disseminate the survey to their school communities. So far the department has received responses from more than 100 school districts and thousands of residents,” emailed Yaple.
Contacted by Northern Valley Press, Lori Alhadeff, who runs a not-for-profit foundation, Make Our Schools Safe, said she was not aware of any concerns about delays in financing the silent panic alarms mandated under Alyssa’s Law.
She said efforts were underway in Florida, where Alyssa was killed, along with 16 others, to pass legislation similar to Alyssa’s Law and funding for the alarms there was a concern.
Yaple could not confirm what possible options for school security funding will be available, although Alyssa’s Law funding was made a priority following Gov. Murphy’s signing of the law in March.
Two priorities noted in a Safe Schools Task Force report issued by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office in March include installing the silent panic alarms and another effort to encourage digital mapping of schools.
The digital mapping recommended creates grid-like maps of exteriors and interiors of school buildings or structures to enable first-responders to quickly identify specific, critical areas of a structure during an emergency response.
Maureen Parenta, a Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson, said the office can provide school districts with an assessment of school facilities to determine where potential security vulnerabilities lie. That assessment can also suggest possible security upgrades and grant funds available, she said.
‘Critical, necessary, ideal’
“Given the specific nature of each building and its needs, school districts should form committees to review their specific physical security needs. Ideally, these needs should be delineated into categories of critical, necessary and ideal,” states the Safe Schools Task Force report.
“They should be further categorized by cost and time necessary to implement. Doing so will allow for a more specific priority to enhance facility security,” the report adds.
The report lists nearly 30 recommendations for improving facility security including digital mapping, retention vestibules, door numbering systems, closed circuit TV surveillance, silent panic alarms, exterior and interior strobe lights, installation of stay/shelter kits, window view blocking laminates, safe zones, straight-forward lockdown procedures, and shaded classroom windows, among others.
As part of the task force’s efforts, three key security efforts are in pilot efforts and are planned to roll out county-wide in the fall.
These include a LiveSafe app—to provide anonymous security tips and a safe channel for emergency communications.
Also, the Prosecutor’s Office has created a database of school facility layouts and encourages districts to create digital maps of local schools and facilities that can be entered into the county database.
These digital maps assist first-responders unfamiliar with a school layout when responding to an emergency or active-shooter situation.
“CRG (Collaborative Response Graphics) technology creates digital grid maps of both the interior and exterior of schools or any structure… CRG saves precious minutes and seconds, which may save lives. This technology is particularly important in Bergen County where there are 72 police departments with a great reliance on surrounding police departments for mutual aid. These officers may not be familiar with a neighboring school’s layout. With CRG, that lack of familiarity will not negatively impact the effectiveness of their response,” states the Safe Schools Task Force report.
Typically, CRG mapping costs about $2,500 per school, and CRG mapping has been pre-approved by the New Jersey School Insurance Group for purchasing through its annual safety program.
Another effort involved a program to assess and accredit schools as “Safe Schools” by analyzing specific security conditions and security features that make a school’s students and staff safe.
Harrington Park Superintendent Adam Fried is leading efforts to create an accreditation program.