| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4226 FILED ON: 3/22/2023 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3881 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Marcus S. Vaughn |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to alert systems in public schools. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Marcus S. Vaughn9th Norfolk3/22/2023 1 of 2 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4226 FILED ON: 3/22/2023 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3881 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Vaughn of Wrentham, a petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Marcus S. |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | Vaughn relative to public schools' emergency alert systems. Education. |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | An Act relative to alert systems in public schools. |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | 1 Section 37R of Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after the |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | 2definition of ‘Two-way communication device’ the following definition:- |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 3 ‘Silent panic alarm,’ a silent security system signal generated by the manual activation of |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 4a device with the intent to signal a life-threatening or emergency situation requiring an |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 5immediate response from law enforcement. |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 6 Section 37R is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 7place thereof the following subsection:- |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 8 (c) Each school shall, subject to appropriation, possess and have access to at least one |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 9silent panic alarm for use in a life-threatening or emergency situation requiring immediate |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 10response from law enforcement, including but not limited to an active shooter situation, |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 11lockdown, or armed or unarmed intruder on school grounds. The alarm shall be directly linked to |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 12local law enforcement and shall immediately transmit a signal or message to such authorities 2 of 2 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 13upon activation. The alarm shall not be audible within the school building and shall be equipped |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 14with an emergency light which turns on when the alarm is activated. |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 15 Section 37R is hereby further amended by inserting after subsection (c) the following |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 16subsection:- |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 17 (d) No public employer shall be liable for injury, loss of property, personal injury or |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 18death caused by an act or omission of a public employee while acting in the scope of the public |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 19employee’s employment and arising out of the implementation of this section, This section shall |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 20not be construed as creating or imposing a specific duty of care. |
|---|