Status: Enacted — Signed by Governor Ned Lamont on June 24, 2025 as Public Act 25-102.
Bill Number: CT SB 1216 / Public Act 25-102 — An Act Concerning School Emergency Response Systems (2025 Regular Session)
Jurisdiction: Connecticut
Category: School Safety (Panic Alert Funding / Alyssa's Law-adjacent)
Industries: K-12 Education
Enacted Date: June 24, 2025
Effective Date: Effective on enactment for purposes of grant program eligibility; subsequent procurements occur as districts apply for grant awards.
Summary: Connecticut SB 1216, codified as Public Act 25-102, amends the state's School Security Infrastructure Competitive Grant Program to authorize the use of grant funds for the purchase of emergency response communications systems and personal emergency communication devices — including wearable silent panic alarms — for school personnel. The bill represents Connecticut's first formal state-level adoption of the Alyssa's Law-style panic-alert funding model: rather than mandating that every public school install a silent panic alert system, Public Act 25-102 makes wearable panic-alarm hardware an explicit eligible use of an existing $20 million school security grant pipeline, materially lowering the procurement barrier for districts. Connecticut's separate full mandate vehicle (SB 846, the "true" Alyssa's Law) remains pending in committee.
Key Requirements / Authorizations:
- Authorizes use of School Security Infrastructure Competitive Grant Program funds for the purchase of emergency response communications systems and personal emergency communication devices for school personnel.
- Eligible devices expressly include wearable silent panic alarms (typically worn as ID-badge-sized devices) capable of alerting other staff and law enforcement when activated.
- Funds may also be used for related staff training and emergency response communication infrastructure.
- Functions through the existing competitive grant pathway administered by the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) in coordination with the State Department of Education.
Affected Entities: Connecticut public school districts, regional educational service centers, and approved charter and magnet schools eligible for School Security Infrastructure Competitive Grant Program awards.
IntelliSee Relevance: Moderate. Public Act 25-102 funds the panic-alarm layer rather than the AI detection layer. The grant program funds wearable devices that staff activate manually after recognizing a threat. IntelliSee's AI weapon detection identifies a visible firearm on existing CCTV before a staff member would need to press a panic button — closing the pre-incident detection gap that wearable alarms cannot address by design. For Connecticut districts pursuing School Security Infrastructure Competitive Grant Program funding, IntelliSee is a complementary engineering control that pairs with the funded panic-alarm layer to provide both pre-incident detection and post-incident notification. Districts evaluating their school security architecture should treat the two layers as complementary, not substitutes.