A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 59-66-35 SO AS TO REQUIRE THE ACQUISITION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MOBILE PANIC ALERT SYSTEMS IN EACH PUBLIC SCHOOL IN THE STATE, TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SYSTEMS, AND TO PROVIDE PROCUREMENT AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 66, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    Section 59-66-35.  (A) Before July 1, 2026, each public school district and charter school in the State:

       (1) shall, under the direction of the Department of Education, acquire and implement in each school a mobile panic alert system that:

           (a) connects disparate emergency services technologies to ensure real-time coordination between local and state law enforcement and first responder agencies; and

           (b) integrates with existing technology found in each local public safety answering-point infrastructure, as defined in Section 23-47-10, to transmit 911 calls and mobile activations;

       (2) may implement additional strategies or systems to ensure real-time coordination between multiple first responder agencies in the event of a school security emergency; and

       (3) may not be required to procure or implement new or additional capabilities if the district has already implemented a mobile panic alert system with capabilities that meet the requirements of item (1).

    (B) The Department of Education, in consultation with the State Law Enforcement Division and the Department of Public Safety, shall:

       (1) identify vendors of systems that satisfy the requirements of subsection (A)(1) for use by school districts, and shall make this list of vendors available to schools no later than January 1, 2026; and

       (2) provide mandatory annual training to all public school resource officers and public school personnel on the proper use of the panic button alert system.

    (C) The State Board of Education, through the State Department of Education, shall promulgate regulations to implement this section.

 

SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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