NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — In worst-case scenarios, seconds matter. That’s why one state lawmaker has pushed to fund panic buttons in every Tennessee school.
While the technology passed during last year’s session, the focus has now turned to funding.
“The panic alarm system is, in my mind, one of the most valuable things a school can install….seconds matter,” explained representative Ron Gant (R).
School safety is at the top of mind throughout the country following a deadly shooting in Madison, Wisconsin earlier this week. That tragedy has, once again, sparked a discussion about how to keep students safe while at school.
“It’s unfortunate that we live in these days and times where this amount of evil that is out there, but we’ve got to do everything we can as lawmakers,” Gant said.
In an effort to keep students safe, in 2023, Tennessee became one of seven states to pass “Alyssa’s Law.” The law is named after 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, who was killed in the 2018 Parkland, Florida school shooting. Her parents have publicly said EMS couldn’t find her and save Alyssa’s life in time.
Since her death, Alhadeff’s parents have worked to pass her legacy from state to state.
“This is a solution to some of my greatest fears as a mom,” said Holly Walker, Co-Founder of Make Our Schools Safe TN (MOSS Tennessee).
Whether they’re on a lanyard, on the wall, or in an app, when teachers press the button, it sends an alert for help. Mother and co-funder MOSS Tennessee, Noelle Rasmussen, said not only can panic buttons be used during active shooter incidents, but also during more common occurrences like allergic reactions and fights.
“They help in a variety of situations. There’s an intruder alert function and there’s a staff alert function, and the panic alarms have been used 95% of the time for non-intruder needs,” Rasmussen said. “This is kind of like a no-brainer. There are lots of issues around school safety and we get that. We felt like this solution was one where everyone can get on board.”
MOSS Tennessee is a nonprofit working to bring lifesaving tools like panic buttons to classrooms across the state.
“It’s unfortunate that we live in these days and times where this amount of evil is out there, but we’ve got to do everything we can as lawmakers,” said Rep. Gant.
Now with the law on the books, the focus has been centered on funding for the technology.
“Money is, obviously, of the importance of this because we’ve got to fund each school to be able to do this,” Gant said.
According to Gant, the cost to implement panic buttons inside every Tennessee school would be around $15,000 per school. Then, there would be an ongoing re-occurring cost of about $8,000 would be needed every year to maintain the technology.
“We know it saves lives,” Gant added. “It’s just — when we do we do it?”
Gant told News 2 he briefly talked to Governor Bill Lee about the initiative, and is hopeful his colleagues will see this as a bipartisan solution during the upcoming legislative session.
