Senate committee advances 'Alyssa's Law' to fund wearable panic alerts in public schools

The West Virginia Senate Education Committee voted to report House Bill 4,798, commonly referred to as Alyssa’s Law, to the full Senate after adopting a committee amendment clarifying how counties may apply for funding.

Counsel Hank told the committee the bill would direct the state board—working with the Division/Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management—to promulgate a rule permitting wearable panic‑alert devices in public schools contingent on available funding. The bill also would establish an Alyssa school safety fund, administered by the Department, to pay for mobile panic buttons and similar safety equipment and would sunset on 12/31/2029. The proposal requires training for school personnel who use the devices and directs county boards to coordinate appropriate access protocols with local law enforcement.

Lori Alhadeff, the mother of Alyssa Alhadeff, testified virtually in support and described the impetus for the bill. “Time equals life,” she told the committee, recounting the 2018 mass shooting that killed her daughter and urging lawmakers to adopt technology that can alert first responders and trigger campus‑wide lockdown notifications faster than current systems. She cited examples where alert systems shortened response times, including a seizure event stabilized within a minute after an alert and hundreds of alerts in Broward County for medical or behavioral incidents.

Senators asked technical questions about the device’s operation, including whether different press patterns could signal different emergencies, how mapping data would locate incidents inside a building and whether counties already have similar systems. Counsel replied that a single press could alert a school office for medical or behavioral issues, multiple presses could be programmed for higher‑level signals, and integration with mapping data would help pinpoint locations inside a school. Several senators noted some West Virginia counties already use related systems.

Vice Chair (S2) moved adoption of the committee amendment clarifying the application process to the Department of Homeland Security; the committee adopted the amendment by voice vote and then voted to report the bill to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass as amended.

The committee’s action advances consideration of the bill in the full Senate; no roll‑call vote tally was recorded in the committee transcript, and the chair declared the ayes carried the motions by voice vote.