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Parents, disability advocates and town officials back airway‑clearance devices and classroom panic alerts in schools
Summary
Witnesses testified in favor of bills to equip schools with wearable panic alerts and airway‑clearance (anti‑choking) devices, citing personal experience and equity concerns for students with disabilities. Advocates urged the committee to allow districts to adopt devices and to provide training and funding.
Two separate safety proposals drew testimony at the Joint Committee on Education hearing: one bill would require or enable wearable panic‑alert devices for school staff (Alyssa’s Law‑style proposals), and another would authorize school districts to place portable airway‑clearance devices or other anti‑choking tools on school campuses.
Lori Alhadeff, a founder of Make Our Schools Safe, testified in support of a bill requiring wearable panic‑alert devices, invoking the 2018 Parkland shooting and saying “Time equals life” as she urged faster notification and multi‑sensory campus alerts.
On airway devices, Equal First Aid executive director Antonio Labate and Eric Ryan, who described living with muscular dystrophy, told the committee that current rescue guidance does not address people who use wheelchairs or who cannot be treated with standard maneuvers. Labate told the committee the organization’s aim is to “bring an equal opportunity for all to be rescued in the event of a choking emergency.” Ryan described a childhood choking incident and said some rescue options are the only practical alternative for people with specific disabilities.
Why it matters: witnesses said both proposals could reduce harm in low‑probability but high‑consequence emergencies — active threats for panic alerts and choking incidents for airway devices — and that training and clear protocols are essential to safe implementation.
Discussion vs. action: testimony was supportive but did not represent committee action. Speakers urged the committee to allow districts to adopt devices without mandating them, to fund training, and to include guidance about operation, storage and replacement.
Background and next steps: committee staff will collect written testimony and technical materials from advocates and vendors; sponsors asked the committee to report the bills favorably so districts have the option of procuring the devices and training staff.
Ending note: several advocates framed the bills as equity measures, particularly for people with disabilities who may lack options under standard emergency protocols. The committee closed the public record for those bills and accepted additional written materials.
