Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Alyssa’s Law into law Thursday, requiring New York school districts to consider installing silent panic alarms to directly alert authorities during emergencies.
The systems, which cost a few thousand dollars and can be accessed via a smartphone app, would allow schools to bypass 911 and discreetly connect with law enforcement “so no time is wasted,” he said. Hochul during a press conference.
The legislation was passed in honor of 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, who was one of the students killed during the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
“We saw in Uvalde, in Parkland: Police response time is imperative to save lives,” the president said, referring to the May 24 school shooting in Texas that killed 19 students and two teachers, and the one in Florida in 2018 that left 17 people dead.
The announcement came just after the Supreme Court struck down a century-old New York law that restricted the carrying of firearms in public.
“I think we will be judged by history,” Hochul said. “Do we get up with courage? Did we make the right decisions? Do we put other people’s lives first: a child’s right to stay alive in school versus someone’s right to carry a gun? I know where I am in that equation,” he added.
The governor signed the bill along with the Alhadeff family and state and local officials.
Alhadeff’s parents have been pushing for the bill to pass in New York for three years. The law is already on the books in Florida and in New Jersey.
“Alyssa was our everything,” said Alyssa’s mother, Lori Alhadeff. “A brilliant student, a talented soccer player who wore number 8, a wonderful friend to all who knew her, the center of our family. Alyssa and her memory are at the heart of this law. And the students and teachers of New York State will now benefit from her support of this legislation.”
Fabien Levy, a spokesman for Mayor Eric Adams, said the administration is currently looking at the law to see how New York City could supplement safety protocols that already exist, such as school safety officers with direct lines to police headquarters. in case of emergency.
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