Alyssa's Law in West Virginia
West Virginia's law requires a state rule that permits, rather than requires, wearable panic alert devices at every public school, contingent on available funding. County boards may, but are not required to, give each school employee a wearable panic alert device that contacts local emergency response agencies. The section sunsets by December 31, 2029.
Every fact checked against the official source by an independent reviewer · Last verified October 25, 2026
What does the West Virginia law do?
The state board must issue a legislative rule on the wearable panic alert system by December 31, 2026. County boards "may" provide the devices.
Each device must be able to connect to local 911 call-center (PSAP) infrastructure and start a campus-wide lockdown notification. County boards must train staff who use the devices before the first day of school each year. County boards must make all school security data accessible to local law enforcement and set access protocols with that agency.
How is it funded?
The law creates the Alyssa Alhadeff School Safety Fund in the State Treasury, run by the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security. Money from the fund can pay for mobile panic buttons and similar school safety equipment. County boards may apply to the Department of Homeland Security for money from the fund.
Bill and statute history
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Bill | House Bill 4798, 2026 Regular Session, Chapter 123 of the Acts |
| Passed | March 10, 2026 |
| Approved | April 1, 2026 |
| Effective | June 8, 2026 |
| Statute | W. Va. Code § 18-9F-9a, the wearable panic alert system, "Alyssa's law" |
| Sunset | By December 31, 2029 |
| Earlier bills | 2025 SB 434 and HB 2394 were referred to finance committees and went no further |
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.
Drill management runs practice drills through the same workflow as a real Alert, so in a real emergency every step is already familiar and nobody stops to second-guess it. A drill never sends a real Dispatch.
QuickSecure's Panic is a phone app, not a wearable device. This is not a statement that any product satisfies West Virginia law or the state board's rule.