Status: Enacted — Signed by Governor Brian P. Kemp on April 28, 2025. Bill effective July 1, 2025. Statewide panic alert system installation deadline: July 1, 2026.
Bill Number: GA HB 268 (2025 Regular Session)
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Category: School Safety (Alyssa's Law / Mobile Panic Alert + School Mapping)
Industries: K-12 Education
Enacted Date: April 28, 2025 (signed by Governor Brian P. Kemp)
Effective Date: July 1, 2025; statewide panic alert system implementation deadline July 1, 2026
What Ricky and Alyssa's Law (HB 268) Requires
Georgia's Ricky and Alyssa's Law, House Bill 268, was signed into law by Governor Brian P. Kemp on April 28, 2025 and took effect July 1, 2025. The law requires every public school in Georgia to implement a mobile panic alert system capable of immediately connecting with local and state emergency services, and requires schools to provide digital mapping data to first responders to support faster, more coordinated emergency response. Statewide implementation must be complete by July 1, 2026.
The legislation honors Richard “Ricky” William Aspinwall, the defense coordinator at Apalachee High School killed during the September 2024 shooting there, and Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old student who lost her life during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS) is responsible for creating uniform guidelines for implementing panic alert technology and coordinating verified threat responses statewide.
Under HB 268, every public school building must be equipped with a panic alert system capable of immediately notifying local law enforcement agencies when activated during an emergency. The law mandates that these systems provide real-time location data so responding officers can identify the precise area within a school building where the threat is occurring and that alarm systems integrate with the state's existing 911 infrastructure to minimize response coordination delays.
The legislation further requires school districts to develop and maintain emergency response protocols that incorporate the panic alarm systems, including regular testing schedules, staff training programs, and coordination procedures with local police and fire departments. Schools must conduct annual drills that include activation of the notification system to ensure all staff members understand how to use it effectively during a crisis. HB 268 also requires schools to provide digital mapping data — floor plans and site maps — to local public safety agencies.
Who Must Comply
Ricky and Alyssa's Law applies to all public school districts in the state of Georgia, covering every K-12 public school building. This includes traditional public schools, charter schools operating within the public system, and any newly constructed school facilities. Private and independent schools are encouraged but not mandated to adopt similar systems under this legislation.
School district administrators, principals, and designated safety officers bear primary responsibility for ensuring compliance by the July 1, 2026 implementation deadline. Local school boards must allocate funding for the procurement and maintenance of compliant notification systems, and the Georgia Department of Education and GEMA/HS oversee implementation timelines and provide technical guidance to districts working toward full deployment.
How IntelliSee Supports Compliance
IntelliSee's AI-powered visual intelligence platform helps Georgia schools meet and exceed the requirements of Ricky and Alyssa's Law by providing continuous, autonomous threat detection that works alongside mandated panic alarm systems. While panic alarms require a person to manually activate them, IntelliSee's AI gun detection identifies visible firearms in real time through existing security camera infrastructure — triggering alerts before anyone needs to press a button.
This proactive detection layer addresses a critical gap: in many school emergencies, staff may be unable to reach a panic button, may not immediately recognize a threat, or may be the first victims of an attack. IntelliSee provides an always-on safety net that detects threats autonomously and dispatches notifications to law enforcement and school administrators simultaneously.
IntelliSee integrates with existing camera systems, requires no new hardware installation beyond what schools already have, and operates without facial recognition technology — protecting student privacy while maintaining robust security coverage. The platform's real-time alert system complements Georgia's 911 integration requirements by providing visual verification of threats to responding officers.
Related Legislation & Resources
- Alyssa's Law — New Jersey — The original Alyssa's Law that inspired state-level legislation nationwide
- Alyssa's Law — New York
- Alyssa's Law — Texas (SB 838)
- Alyssa's Law — Oregon (HB 3083)
- Alyssa's Law — Washington (SB 5004)
- ALYSSA Act — Federal
- Georgia HB 1023 — Mandatory Weapons Detection in Public Schools
- IntelliSee for Education
- AI Gun Detection