In a recent article in His Good News, we identified a Bill introduced in the 2025 general legislative session which focused on increasing student safety. Since then we have interviewed several WV schools about their actions to improve school safety,

According to Eddie Riley, Administrator of Cross Lanes Christian School, "Our Parents appreciate the fact that Cross Lanes Christian School is focused on the safety and security of their children. Before we chose Active Defender, we had a color coded system using announcements over the school intercom. We looked at many systems to improve safety and spoke with a county public school resource officer but none of the other systems that we looked at had the benefits of Active Defender. Our campus has five buildings and we needed a system that could locate problems or an intruder and the AD mapping system created a custom map solution better than any other system that we looked at. We also liked the fact that we can edit the users to identify and assign who is responsible for taking specific actions. AD also identifies students that may be exhibiting behavior associated with personal problems so we can help them meet these needs as well. Not only is their system great but also the service and response of the company is a big point of distinction with AD. We are now testing their new panic button because studies show this will help first responders lower the response time even more."

Every morning, every parent prays for God to keep their kids safe while they are at school. According to a 2022 survey Homeschooled Children and Reasons for Homeschooling by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the number 1 reason for homeschooling is safety. According to a 2023 NCES study, Parent and Family Involvement in Education safety is one of the top two priorities parents state when they are thinking of switching schools. 

Delegate Jonathan Pinson from Mason County proposed a Bill in the most recent Legislative session that would have made all schools in WV safer. According to Delegate Pinson “In today’s world, providing every teacher and school staff member with a wearable panic button is not just common sense—it’s both affordable and essential.

Our state has a critical opportunity to lead on school safety by standing with faculty, students, and parents to ensure our campuses are as secure as possible. When teachers feel safe, students can focus on learning and growing without fear.

A wearable panic button enables staff to instantly signal for help and share their location during emergencies—whether it's a disruption, medical incident, or security threat. These devices can also trigger a school-wide lockdown and alert 911 and first responders immediately.

The devices I’ve seen are small, badge-sized, and worn on a lanyard—just like the ID and access cards most teachers already wear.

Many parents would be surprised to learn that installing these systems school-wide costs a few thousand dollars per school. That’s a small price to pay for a discreet, life-saving tool that gives every educator a direct lifeline in the event of an emergency.”

The Alyssa's Law, named in honor of Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old student who tragically lost her life during the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, is a legislative measure aimed at enhancing school safety by mandating the installation of silent panic alarms in public schools. These alarms are designed to provide a direct and immediate link to local law enforcement agencies, thereby reducing response times during emergencies. Already New Jersey, Florida, New York, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, and Oklahoma have passed versions of this legislation. In Texas, the Pittsburg School District bought an alert button for each of their 400 employees. According to Ryan Patton who heads the technology and safety group for Pittsburg ISD, “We had an entry level system for several years but we wanted a more comprehensive system. We made a check list of our ‘wants’ and ‘must haves’, interviewed about a dozen companies and Active Defender was the only safety system that checked off all the boxes.  We want to make sure that all of our parents know that their child’s safety is a big priority for us so we are using our social media and facebook applications to educate parents on Active Defender and all of our other layers of student protection”.

But even in states where these alarm systems aren’t required, their use is proving to be a school safety game-changer, superintendents from Kansas and Maine told attendees at the National Conference on Education held by AASA, The School Superintendents Association. And that’s not just for lockdown-level incidents, but also for student and staff health emergencies, behavioral issues and other incidents