Alyssa's Law in New Jersey
What New Jersey's Alyssa's Law (P.L. 2019, c.33) requires: a silent panic alarm in every public school building, directly linked to law enforcement and installed by a licensed alarm business.
- Statute
- P.L. 2019, c.33 (A764)
- Enacted
- Signed February 6, 2019 · effective September 1, 2019
- Status
- Mandate
What does Alyssa's Law require in New Jersey?
New Jersey's Alyssa's Law (P.L. 2019, c.33, from A764) requires every public elementary and secondary school building to be equipped with at least one panic alarm for emergency use. The alarm must be silent — not audible inside the building — must transmit directly to local law enforcement upon activation, must meet NFPA and Underwriters Laboratories standards, and must be installed by a licensed alarm business. New Jersey was the first state to enact Alyssa's Law, effective September 1, 2019.
MandateLast reviewed July 2026
What the statute requires
- At least one panic alarm per building
- Every public elementary and secondary school building must be equipped with at least one panic alarm for use in a school emergency.
- Direct law enforcement link
- The alarm must be directly linked to local law enforcement and immediately transmit a signal upon activation. Where a municipality has no police department, it links to a location designated by the Superintendent of State Police.
- Silent operation
- The alarm must not be audible within the school building.
- Industry standards
- Panic alarms must adhere to nationally recognized industry standards, including those of the National Fire Protection Association and Underwriters Laboratories.
- Licensed installation
- Installation must be performed by a person licensed to engage in the alarm business under N.J.S.A. 45:5A-27.
Funding
New Jersey has administered Alyssa's Law compliance funding through the New Jersey Schools Development Authority for eligible districts. Availability and eligibility change between funding cycles — confirm current programs with the NJSDA and your county office of education.
New Jersey is the strictest of the mandate states
New Jersey wrote its statute around installed alarm systems, not software. The requirements for NFPA and UL conformance and for installation by a licensed alarm business are specific and were drafted with hardware in mind. That distinction matters when evaluating vendors: a mobile app alone does not satisfy the installation and licensing language on its face.
This is different from Florida and Texas, whose statutes are written around mobile panic alert technology and explicitly contemplate software-based systems.
What that means for your procurement
Most New Jersey districts satisfy the statute with a compliant installed alarm system, then separately adopt communication and operations software for everything the alarm does not do — notifying staff, coordinating a response, documenting drills, and reaching families.
The right question for a vendor is therefore not "does this make us compliant" but "which part of the requirement does this cover, and what remains." Any vendor answering the first question with an unqualified yes is worth a second look.
Where EduLens fits in New Jersey
- Silent staff-triggered alerts from any device, with direct 911 dispatch integration
- Instant push notification to every staff member, with district-wide broadcast
- Standard Response Protocol actions: Lockdown, Lockout, Evacuate, Shelter, Hold
- Automatic drill and alert logging for compliance documentation
- Parent notification through the same platform families already use
What EduLens does not do here
EduLens is software. New Jersey's statute requires a panic alarm meeting NFPA and UL standards installed by a licensed alarm business, and a software platform does not satisfy that installation requirement on its own. New Jersey districts should treat EduLens as the layer that runs alongside a compliant installed alarm — handling staff notification, response coordination, drill documentation, and family communication — not as a replacement for it. Confirm your specific obligations with district counsel.
Alyssa's Law in New Jersey — common questions
Not on its own. New Jersey's statute (P.L. 2019, c.33) requires a panic alarm that meets NFPA and Underwriters Laboratories standards and is installed by a person licensed to engage in the alarm business under N.J.S.A. 45:5A-27. Those requirements were drafted around installed alarm systems. Districts should confirm with counsel how a software-based system fits alongside a compliant installation.
It was signed February 6, 2019 and took effect September 1, 2019. New Jersey was the first state in the country to enact Alyssa's Law.
The statute requires at least one panic alarm per public elementary and secondary school building. Districts frequently exceed that minimum so staff can trigger an alert from anywhere on campus rather than from a single fixed location.
EduLens handles what an installed alarm does not: silent staff alerting from any device with 911 dispatch integration, instant notification to every staff member, SRP protocol actions, automatic drill logging for documentation, and family communication — alongside dismissal, attendance, behavior, health office, and visitor management. It runs with your compliant alarm installation, not instead of it.
Other states
Alyssa's Law has been enacted in 12 states as of July 2026: New Jersey, Florida, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Oklahoma, Georgia, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia. Requirements differ substantially between them.
This summary is provided for general information and reflects our reading of publicly available statutes and state guidance as of July 2026. It is not legal advice. School safety legislation changes frequently and implementation requirements vary by district. Confirm current obligations with your district's legal counsel, school safety specialist, and state education department before making a purchasing decision.
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