SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Districts in metro Atlanta are piloting a new mobile panic alert system that could become required for all Georgia schools.
The bill is called 'Alyssa's Law,' named after Alyssa Alhadeff, who died in the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in 2018 and has so far only been introduced onto the Georgia Senate floor.
Fulton County Schools is just one of the districts that have already upgraded to the Centegix CrisisAlert program, which can connect to first responders, according to a district spokesperson.
"As a teacher, your brain is always going, and you're trying to notice the smallest thing," said Meganne Eldredge, a Fulton County kindergarten teacher at High Point Elementary.
As part of the alert system, teachers and staff wear a badge that signals different types of emergencies to the district police department with a certain number of taps. Eldredge said the system makes her feel "at all times."
"[There's] power of knowing if they click this, it's all hands on deck," Danielle Miller, Principal at High Point Elementary, said.
While common alerts include a child needing medical help, the badges also equip all staff with the ability to trigger a full school lockdown, also pinpointing the location where the alert is activated.
"We all own safety and security on our campuses, and now with the click of the badge, anyone that sees an active threat on our campus can quickly lock down the school," Paul Hildreth, the district's Director of Safety and Security, said.
Miller said it's a time-saving upgrade to their current system, which requires a chain of responses from the classroom to the front desk to administrators and responders.
"It cuts down tremendously on the time wasted in the event of a medical emergency or safety emergency," Miller said.
Across the metro, other districts are also making plans for such technology. The Dekalb County school board recently approved purchasing the same system in a $3.9 million contract.
A spokesperson for Atlanta Public Schools told 11Alive that the district is also exploring Centegix as a possible solution. Cobb County School District started using the technology last year, while Douglas County School System was one of the first to roll out the technology in 2019.
Eldredge said she couldn't speak for everyone, but she's comforted knowing a call for help will only be a click away.