TRENTON, N.J. – Legislation making it necessary for public schools to install panic buttons and emergency lights to be used during attacks and emergencies is on its way to becoming law following Assembly approval today.

The bill (A764) is named in honor of Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old killed in the Parkland High School shooting last year. She and her family lived in Bergen County until a few years ago.

“This is simply about making schools safer and saving lives,” said Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco (R-Morris). “With the push of a button, teachers or administrators can immediately report an incident to law enforcement. Many schools have already installed this technology and this legislation will make it uniform around the state.”

The bill was amended at Bucco’s urging to authorize reimbursement for those schools that already installed the devices.

The alarm, which would not be audible within the school building, must be directly linked to local law enforcement and immediately transmit a signal or message to the authorities upon activation.

“The amount of time it takes to report and respond to an emergency can mean the difference between life and death,” continued Bucco. “The sooner police are notified, the quicker they can respond.”

Funding for this measure was approved as part of the public question approved at the last election.

The Assembly concurred with the governor’s recommendations. The bill now heads to the Senate. It previously passed the Assembly 76-0 and the Senate 38-1.