Committee advances Alyssa’s Law panic‑alert plan and passes bills on reporting, gifted coursework, school calendars and school improvement

The House Primary and Secondary Education Committee advanced five bills during its snowy morning meeting, most notably House Bill 14 — known in the hearing as Alyssa’s Law — which would let school districts implement wearable panic‑alert badges that link staff to campus offices, 911 call centers and first responders.

Representative Kevin Jackson, the bill sponsor, told the committee, “This bill would add another valuable piece to school safety across Kentucky.” Jackson said the measure is vendor‑neutral and that districts “may, not shall, implement a wearable panic alert system” beginning in the 2025–26 school year. He and others described the devices as silent badges with a back‑button that can send tiered alerts depending on how many times it is pressed.

The bill’s proponents emphasized emergencies beyond active‑shooter scenarios. Laurie Alhadeff, founder of the nonprofit Make Our Schools Safe and mother of Alyssa Alhadeff, testified by video, saying, “Time equals life,” and urged lawmakers to approve wearable alarms that “reduce the response time of first responders.” Students and Kentucky Youth Assembly members joined the presentation and described cases in other states where rapid alerts shortened response times and helped first responders locate incidents inside large campuses.

Committee discussion of HB 14 covered funding, vendor neutrality and training. Sponsors said the draft is vendor neutral and would let the Kentucky Department of Education provide an approved‑systems list; cost estimates…