West Virginia2026Enacted

HB4798

Alyssa's Law: Mobile Alert Buttons for Schools

Last scannedAug 22, 2026, 11:08 AM

In one sentence

This law allows public schools in West Virginia to use wearable panic buttons that send emergency alerts directly to police, funded by a new state safety fund.

Requires the State Board of Education and Homeland Security to create rules allowing all public schools to install wearable panic alert devices if funding is available.
Mandates that these devices connect with local 9-1-1 systems to send calls, mobile alerts, and campus-wide lockdown notifications.
Allows county school boards to give a wearable device to each employee in a school building for immediate contact with emergency responders.
Requires schools to train all staff on how to use the panic alert devices before the first day of every school year.
Ensures that local law enforcement can access security data like cameras, maps, and door controls within school facilities.
Creates a new fund called the Alyssa Alhadeff School Safety Fund to pay for mobile panic buttons and other safety equipment.

Schools can only use the alert devices if money is available from the new fund or other sources.
The law will automatically expire on December 31, 2029, unless lawmakers pass a new version to keep it active.

Plain language

Wearable panic alert system device: A button or tool worn by staff that sends an emergency signal to police when pressed.
Sunset provision: A rule stating the law will automatically end on December 31, 2029, unless renewed.
Public safety answering point: The system that receives and processes emergency calls like 9-1-1.

Official record

Validated

Permitting teachers to wear a “mobile alert button” for emergency situations, to be known as “Alyssa’s Law.”

Official activity

Changes

2 stored

hb4798 sfat grady _1 3-9 adopted.htm

Adopted

hb4798 sfat grady _1 3-9.htm

Filed