Moseley school safety legislation on its way to the governor’s desk

INDIANAPOLIS – Legislation co-authored by Representative Chuck Moseley (D-Portage) that would increase school safety by installing a system that can quickly alert first responders in the event of a 911 emergency is on its way to Governor Holcomb’s desk to be signed into law.

House Bill 1225 would allow school corporations and charter schools to apply for grant funding from the Indiana Secured School Fund to help cover initial set-up costs for an active event warning system, which is modeled after an active event warning system currently used throughout Porter County. The system is designed to ensure rapid response in the event of a 911 emergency – such as an active shooter – or similar emergencies taking place in any school building within all school districts.

“When there is an emergency situation in a school, such as an active shooter, the quicker the response, the more likely we are to save lives,” Moseley said. “In Porter County, the active event warning system has proven to be more efficient in alerting first responders of a 911 emergency and helping them identify and neutralize the threat as quickly and safely as possible.”

With the press of a button, the system immediately notifies first responders in the area that there is an emergency. Having the alert reach as many first responders in the area as possible and avoid the 911 emergency process allows for more efficient response times. In fact, first responders have reported response times of under one minute while utilizing this system.

Once the system is activated, security camera footage can be accessed from each building on campus to identify the location of an intruder and vital information about their identity.

“The ability for the application to access all cameras inside of the school allows law enforcement to have eyes and ears inside the building in the event of an emergency situation,” Moseley said. “That means first responders will have eyes on the suspect and know which hallways are safe to evacuate and which should be avoided.”

In Porter County, nearly 100 buildings are covered by the active event warning system - including all school corporation buildings, YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, private industries, and churches. The cost to set up the active event warning system in Porter County was approximately $80,000. The balance of the Indiana Secured School Fund at the end of 2018 was $9.9 million.