October 4, 2021

News Conference – Tuesday, October 5, at noon

As part of Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) commitment to create a safer and more secure learning environment for all students, staff and visitors, the District has launched Alyssa’s Alert - a mobile duress alert app - in partnership with SaferWatch and Motorola.

This new mobile app meets the criteria for compliance with Alyssa’s Law (SB 70), signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on June 30, 2020, which requires every school in Florida to implement a mobile duress alert system connected to a public safety answering point (PSAP) and first responders. The law is named in honor of Alyssa Alhadeff, one of the 17 victims of the February 14, 2018, tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Alyssa’s Law does not suggest users replace 911 as the main way to report emergencies.  Alyssa’s Alert is an augmented tool for reporting information, allowing District employees to instantly report emergencies to all relevant administrators, security staff and local public safety emergency operation centers. The alerts include detailed information, such as user profile, location coordinates and supporting videos, pictures or audio recordings to provide 911 operators with real-time intelligence for a unified operational view of events to share with first responders en route to a school.

The District will hold a news conference in commemoration of the launch at noon on Tuesday, October 5, at the Kathleen C. Wright Administration Building - Board Room, located at 600 S.E. Third Avenue, Fort Lauderdale. The event will also be live streamed at  www.becon.tv/newsconference. Facial coverings are required for all media in attendance.

In the spring of 2021, the Florida Department of Education announced 10 state-approved vendors for Districts to partner with in implementing a mobile duress alert system. The BCPS Division of Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness convened a team of internal and external partners, including local law enforcement, the District Security Operations Center, Broward County dispatch centers, the Broward Sheriff’s Office Real Time Crime Center and Broward County Emergency Management and Communications to evaluate, select, develop and implement the best solution for the District.

Based on feedback from this group, BCPS selected the SaferWatch/Motorola platform and began the development process. The District tested the platform with all three 911 dispatch centers over the summer to ensure full functionality for the start of the school year.

The app is available to all District staff, employees and teachers. Training has been provided for all school-based employees for the 2021/22 school year. Additionally, BCPS has provided training to Broward Sheriff’s Office School Resources Officers, guardians and school security staff on how to implement the application and respond to incidents.

For more information on the BCPS Division of Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness, visit browardschools.com/safetyandsecurity.

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ABOUT BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS  

“Committed to educating all students to reach their highest potential.”    

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is the sixth-largest school district in the nation and the second largest in the state of Florida. The District is Florida’s first fully accredited school system since 1962 and has nearly 261,000 pre-K-12^th grade students and approximately 110,000 adult students in 241 schools, centers, and technical colleges, and 92 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, representing 170 different countries and 147 different languages. To connect with BCPS, visit browardschools.com, follow on Twitter @browardschools and Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools, and download the free BCPS mobile app.