Rep. Levy: $2.5 million in grants now available to Oregon school districts for wireless panic alarms

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Oregon Department of Education’s School Safety and Emergency Management program opened up applications Thursday for school districts to apply for the Wireless Panic Alarm Grant. Rep. Emerson Levy (D-Central Oregon) secured funding for the school safety improvements during the 2023 legislative session.

“We can all sleep better tonight knowing our tax dollars are going to this common-sense approach to enhancing our emergency procedures in and around our school campuses,” said Rep. Levy in a news release. “From a student needing an EpiPen to a natural disaster or man-made emergency, this funding will give our school districts the ability to community more efficiently and effectively within the school campus and with first responders. In an emergency, every second counts.” 

In 2023, Rep. Levy introduced Alyssa’s Law (HB 3101) to require school districts in Oregon to install silent panic alarm systems in their schools. While Levy said the bill didn’t pass during the legislative session due to the record-long Senate Republican walkouts, SSEM was given money for the grant program in a budget bill (House Bill 5014).

As outlined by the Oregon Department of Education, the Wireless Panic Alarm Grant is open to School districts that provide services to students during the regular school year. Applicants may request grant funds for every school building used by students during the school year. School districts will be reimbursed $2,000 per school in their district.

Districts that wish to apply or have questions can visit ODE’s SSEM website or email ODE.SSEM@ode.oregon.gov to request a link for an application.

Alyssa’s Law as Levy introduced it is named in memory of Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old student who tragically lost her life during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2017. The law requiring schools to install silent panic alarm systems has passed in six states, and Levy plans to reintroduce that legislation in 2025 to improve safety in all Oregon schools.

“Thank you to the Oregon Department of Education, our first responders, and the school districts all around Oregon who worked with us to make sure these grants can be applied quickly and seamlessly. I look forward to continuing to work on this in the future,” said Levy.