Arkansas's school panic button law
Arkansas law requires a public school to have a panic button alert system, or other means of emergency communication with law enforcement, only if funding is available. The Department of Education says districts are not required to buy an alert system but may choose to with allowable state and local funds.
Every fact checked against the official source by an independent reviewer · Last verified October 25, 2026
What does the Arkansas law say?
Section 6-15-1302(a) says a public school "shall have" a panic button alert system "if funding is available," or other means of emergency communication with law enforcement, also if funding is available. The deadline in the statute is October 1, 2021.
A panic button alert system under the statute must:
- connect the caller with 911 while notifying designated on-site personnel at the same time
- integrate directly into the statewide Smart911 system
- be available as a smartphone application
- be limited to users that school administrators designate, approve and confirm
The LEARNS Act separately requires each public school district and open-enrollment public charter school to take listed steps to promote student safety. One step is setting up systems for direct communication with local law enforcement, which "may include" emergency alert systems. An alert system is one option, not a requirement.
How does the Department of Education read it?
The department's Commissioner's Memo COM-22-101 (January 6, 2022) says:
- districts are not required to buy an alert system but may choose to with allowable state and local funds
- the required emergency communication with law enforcement does not have to be a panic button alert system
- no state funding would go to districts specifically to buy a panic button alert system in 2022-23
The DESE Rules Governing School Safety, effective January 1, 2024, list emergency alert systems as one way to set up direct communication with local law enforcement. The 2025 DESE School Safety Grant lists an emergency alert or management system as an approved expenditure.
Who is covered?
Public schools under § 6-15-1302; public school districts and open-enrollment public charter schools under the LEARNS Act.
Bill and statute history
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original law | 2015 School Safety Act, House Bill 1653 (Act 950 of 2015), approved April 2, 2015 |
| 2021 amendment | House Bill 1549 (Act 620 of 2021), approved April 8, 2021, added the other-means alternative; Senate Bill 394 (Act 648 of 2021) made the same change |
| LEARNS Act | Act 237 of 2023, approved March 8, 2023; the § 6-15-1303 rewrite took effect on approval |
| Did not pass | HB1492 (2025) would have required a mobile panic alert system; its author withdrew it and it went to interim study |
How can QuickSecure help?
Panic, the QuickSecure mobile app, lets any staff member raise an Alert from a phone. Schools start with Lockdown, Fire, Medical and Admin Alerts, each with its response workflow already built, and can add their own Alert types with their own workflows.
Schools can also add a physical panic button.
Each school sets how every Alert type behaves: silent or announced, a critical alert or a normal notification, whether it also sends email and text messages, and how it looks, down to its color, icon and wording.
Dispatch sends the Alert straight to 911 through RapidSOS, with one confirmation step. Each school chooses which Alert types call 911.
Mass notifications lets a school choose how each message goes out: app notifications, critical alerts, text messages or email.
Nexus holds campus maps and floor plans, plus details such as where the AEDs are, who is on site, which class each person is in and their status, and responders can see them during an Alert.
This is not a statement that any product satisfies Arkansas law, including its Smart911 integration requirement.