Texas Mandates Panic Buttons In All Classrooms In Response To Mass Shootings

Panic buttons are now required in every classroom inside of Texas’ public schools as a way to combat mass shootings.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill into law on Tuesday that mandates the alert systems, which would immediately contact school and area emergency service agencies when triggered.

“Alyssa’s Law,” named after 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, who was killed in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, invests $1.7 million into implementing the new emergency system, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

“Seconds really matter. Time equals life,” Alyssa’s mother Lori Alhadeff, who attended the bill’s signing, told CBS Austin. “Panic buttons are key to being able to get law enforcement to know exactly where the threat is coming from, pull up cameras, get eyes on the scene, mitigate risk, and save lives.”

Texas is one of five states that has passed “Alyssa’s Law.” It’s been introduced and considered in five other states.

The state’s schools have until 2025 to purchase and install the alarms and train staff and teachers on how to use them, the American-Statesman reported.

There have been seven mass shootings in public places in Texas since Abbott took office — including the state’s worst mass shooting and its deadliest school shooting.