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House amends school safety bill to make deployment of emergency-response devices subject to annual funding
Summary
The House passed HB 234 but adopted a floor amendment making implementation contingent on an annual dedicated school safety funding source; floor debate highlighted cost, vendor selection and equity for small/rural systems.
The Alabama House passed HB 234, a bill that requires governing bodies to purchase approved mobile emergency rapid-response systems or wearable emergency buttons for school staff and other devices intended to reduce response time to campus incidents. On the floor the House adopted a friendly amendment requiring deployment to be subject to an annual dedicated school safety funding source, which sponsors and superintendents said is necessary to avoid shifting local funds away from other priorities.
Representative Mark Baker, the bill sponsor, said the measure provides a five-year runway for school systems to adopt the technology and gives…
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