“We encourage use any time they’re contacting 911,” Armitage said. Eaton County Central Dispatch Director Michael Armitage says the panic button system has proven to be useful in various situations since it was implemented in 2015. She said the app’s immediate, consistent communication with key people improves response time, which is critical.Īll public and private K-12 schools in Michigan’s Eaton County use the Rave app, which was funded by a state school safety grant. Norman Public Schools has implemented the app and has so far used it several times for medical situations, said Alesha Leemaster, a district spokeswoman. The program is largely untested, and there have been some concerns over reports of the app’s failure to notify emergency responders or of false alarms, such as one that occurred at an Arkansas elementary school in 2015.īut law enforcement in areas where it’s being implemented, including one Oklahoma district and individual districts in New York, California and Florida, have found success using the system. It also allows the caller to text 9-1-1 if they are afraid or unable to speak, according to the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association. The Rave Mobile Safety website claims this enhanced coordination saves time and lives. The app gives a 911 operator immediate access to the caller’s specific location, as well as building floor plans and points of entry.
The panic button works like this: A teacher or other staff member uses the app to dial 911, which simultaneously alerts authorities and on-site staff of an active shooter, fire or other emergency. The $3 million provides access to all school districts, and Oklahoma is the third state to implement the service in schools statewide.
The panic button is a cell phone app that will be available to staff at every school in the state. “Although the department did not request this in our budget, we understand why legislators included a line item to implement a mobile safety app for schools,” she said. “We are excited about how the Rave system will significantly enhance school safety. She also toured the Norman 9-1-1 center along with state legislators to see how Norman schools has implemented the Rave system. Hofmeister regularly meets with representatives of businesses and nonprofits, said Steffie Corcoran, a department spokeswoman. In a statement, the department defended the lobbyist meals. He also reported spending more than $50 on a dinner with Hofmeister a month earlier, on April 17. The lobbyist, Steve Edwards, reported purchasing meals for a number of state lawmakers, but two stand out: a $52 dinner on May 21 with three key Education Department staffers: state Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister, Chief of Staff Phil Bacharach and Chief of Government Affairs Carolyn Thompson, records show. Rave Mobile Safety, a Massachusetts-based company that makes the app, employs a lobbyist at the State Capitol - the same lobbyist who represents the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association, which voted to endorse the program in March. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, but it stalled during the legislative session.Įthics Commission reports show company officials were busy lobbying state leaders shortly before the budget deal was finalized. There was a bill this year to direct school districts to implement a panic button alert system by Sen. Districts can choose whether to use the system. In addition to the $3 million price tag, the app comes with recurring maintenance fees, expected to be $2 million for two years, according to an Education Department spokeswoman.
Although it was not included in the state Education Department’s budget requests, lawmakers passed funding for the program through a line item in the department’s 2020 budget allocation. A $3 million taxpayer-funded program will soon give schools across the state access to a relatively untested “panic button” app that can alert authorities and staff if there is an active shooter, fire or emergency in the school.įunding for the Rave Panic Button app was largely approved behind the scenes this year.
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