Lawmakers hear unanimous support for mapping changes to help find eloping students
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Summary
As part of the LEAD Act package, Delegate McCaskill said HB1000 would require school-site maps to include a one‑mile radius and label nearby water bodies and hazards so first responders and schools can better coordinate searches for students prone to elopement.
Delegate Alethia McCaskill presented House Bill 1,000—part of a five‑bill LEAD Act package—asking the committee to require school mapping data include a one‑mile radius around school grounds and identify nearby water bodies and other environmental risks.
McCaskill and family advocates said the enhancement improves first-responder situational awareness and could be lifesaving for children and adults with autism or other conditions who elope. A family advocate who described personal experience with elopement cited statistics discussed in testimony: "In 2024, 91 percent of fatalities were due to drowning," and witnesses argued mapping nearby water features would speed initial searches and improve rescue outcomes.
Reginald Lawson, a former law-enforcement adviser, said bodies of water represent a tier‑one threat in elopement searches and that pre-existing mapping standards can be updated by the interagency commission on school construction. Supporters said the change could be incorporated into existing mapping processes with little new cost and asked the committee for a favorable report.
The hearing closed with unanimous expressions of support for the LEAD Act components.
