Increased School Security Grants Cover New Panic Buttons

NORTHBROOK, IL — Putting panic buttons into classrooms just got dramatically cheaper with a new federal plan to pick up the cost of the devices. The new grant program started with a bipartisan proposal from two Illinois Congressmen, Rep. Brad Scheinder (D-Deerfield) and Rep. Mike Bost (R- Murphysburo) and now finances 75 percent of the cost of the buttons, which aim to contact authorities faster in cases of violence, medical emergency or natural disaster.

The bill was signed into law on March 23 as part of the omnibus federal spending bill. It was introduced in January as the Security Our Schools Act before being incorporated into the STOP School Violence Act and passing through the house by a vote of 407-10.

"We have panic buttons in banks, office buildings, and retail locations, there is no reason we shouldn’t have them at our schools to protect our children," said Bost. "I’m proud to see this bipartisan, commonsense proposal to protect our kids signed into law.”

The Schneider-Bost measure was signed into law as a part of the omnibus federal spending bill. Schneider and Bost originally introduced the legislation in January as H.R. 4811, the Securing Our Schools Act, and it was later incorporated into H.R. 4909, the STOP School Violence Act, which passed the House in March by a vote of 407-10.

“I am proud of the bipartisan support Congressman Bost and I have built together for the Securing Our Schools Act," Schneide said. "This should be just the start of our work here in Congress on solutions to reduce gun violence and improve student safety, and I look forward to building on this progress in the days ahead.”

Co-sponsors from the Illinois Congressional delegation include Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville), Robin Kelly (D-Matteson), Adam Kinzinger (R-Channahon) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston). The bill was also endorsed by the National Sheriffs' Association and the National Education Association, according to Bost and Schneider.

The expanded funding bill provides for $75 million a year until 2028 for the federal matching grant program for school security and expands the program beyond public schools. It specifically expands the area of program to cover buying "technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency."

The Department of Justice is supposed to make sure the money gets divided up evenly between with an "equitable geographic distribution," among suburban, urban and rural areas.

The payoff could come quickly for some local school districts already working on upgrades to security protocols, Pioneer Press reports. The superintendent of Northbrook/Glenview District 30 said panic buttons were already planned to be included in under-construction Maple School.

North Shore School District 112 already has a similar system, according to the present operations director of Township High School District 113. He said he plans to look into installing panic buttons at Deerfield and Highland Park high schools, and the superintendent supports the idea.

“This can be a way to protect every classroom,” District 113 Superintendent Christopher Dignam told the paper. “It solves a problem in a high school where there are so many rooms.”

Following February's mass shooting at a Florida high school, Northbrook School District 27 hired the firm Tier One Tactical Solutions to train local employees of schools, park districts and churches to better respond to "active intruder scenarios," WGN reported.