The Florida Department of Education (DOE) has selected AT&T’s instant emergency notification and coordinated emergency response solution to protect its schools.
The system securely shares live video and directly connects school communications, including radio, with responding public safety agencies so they can better understand the situation, coordinate action and quickly resolve the incident, according to the company.
“AT&T is deeply committed to creating safer communities and we align with the Florida Department of Education in their vision to keep students, teachers and staff safe. Providing schools with fast and reliable communication solutions every day, especially during times of a crisis, can help save lives,” says Brian Troup, Vice President, Public Sector, AT&T. “We’re honored to help enhance emergency communication safety measures in schools so parents, students and teachers feel safer and can focus on educating kids.”
The selection is part of the state’s Alyssa’s Law requirements, which include the installation of mobile panic buttons in every teacher and staff member’s mobile device to silently alert law enforcement to campus emergencies. The law was named in honor of student Alyssa Alhadeff, one of 17 people killed in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland (Fla.).
“With this solution, AT&T is collaborating with Mutualink to transform school panic buttons, powered by Raptor Technologies and Rave Mobile Safety,” reads a press release. “This smart emergency response platform instantly creates a near real-time connected emergency response and collaboration environment with responders to provide lifesaving critical information.”
The emergency communications platform is said to support a multi-agency response with direct connection between school administrators and first responders to share radio, video, data, and text for silent communications.
Additional features include:
- Management and integration with existing compliant technologies and panic alert infrastructure
- Reduced time to incident resolution by enabling near real-time information sharing and communication between schools and multiple first responder agencies
- Delivery of critical panic alert details, such as the location of emergency and key facility data.
- SAFETY Act certified and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) compliant
- Option to use with FirstNet®, the only nationwide, high-speed broadband communications platform dedicated to and purpose-built for America’s first responders and the extended public safety community
For more information, visit att.com.
