New Texas Bill Filed Calls for Emergency Alarms at Schools
By: Texas Tribune
Updated: February 19, 2013
While some state lawmakers have filed school safety bills aimed at increasing gun access or regulation on school property, one legislator is taking a different approach to protecting Texas' schoolchildren.
State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, on Friday filed House Bill 1353, which would require school districts to equip their schools with electronic emergency alarms that notify police in the event of a school emergency, like a school shooting similar to what occurred in December at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
"If [emergency buttons] are good enough for convenience stores and banks, they are good enough for Texas schools," Rodriguez said.
He added that installing an emergency system that notifies police could drastically cut response time to emergency situations at schools.
According to a CNN timeline of events at Sandy Hook, initial calls for help were made at approximately 9:30 a.m., and police and first responders arrived to the school about 20 minutes later.
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