School mapping laws
Where every state stands on school floor plans, site maps and the digital maps police and fire use in an emergency.
Every fact checked against the official source by an independent reviewer · Last verified October 26, 2026
- Required by law21
- Required by state rule3
- Allowed by law5
- Funding only6
- Guidance only6
- No law found10
What is a school mapping law?
These laws cover the floor plans, site maps and digital "critical incident mapping data" that help first responders in a school emergency. In New Jersey, that data includes aerial images, floor plans with room numbers, building access points, and the locations of hazardous materials and utility shut-offs. Some states put the duty on schools. Texas requires each district and open-enrollment charter school to give "an accurate map of each district campus and school building" to the Department of Public Safety, local law enforcement and emergency first responders. Other states run the program themselves. Kentucky's School Mapping Data Program is run by the Kentucky 911 Services Board, which must give the data to the state school security marshal, participating schools and districts, and local law enforcement and public safety agencies. Several laws share one map standard. Alabama, Florida and Kentucky all require school mapping data laid over current aerial imagery, oriented true north, with a grid of coordinates on top.
Which states have a school mapping law?
The table below gives the status in every state and the District of Columbia as of October 26, 2026.
| State | What the law says | Law or rule | Who gets the maps | Updates | State funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Required by law. The state police agency (ALEA) must work with local school boards to produce mapping data for each public K-12 school, subject to appropriated funds | Ala. Code § 16-22B-4 | Local school boards, local law enforcement and public safety agencies | As ALEA deems necessary, with the state and local boards | $2,000,000 for school mapping in FY2027 |
| Alaska | Guidance only. The state school emergency plan template recommends drawing exit routes on a school floor plan; the crisis plan law does not mention maps | Alaska School EOP Template (2018, guidance) | — | — | — |
| Arizona | Funding only. Schools that choose to apply to the state School Safety Program must include a plan to give blueprints and floor plans to local police, EMS and fire | A.R.S. 15-154 | Local law enforcement, EMS and fire department (applicants only) | — | $2,000,000 in FY2026-27 to a fund for programs that share maps and floor plans with responders |
| Arkansas | Required by law. Each public school must give current floor plans and emergency contacts to appropriate first responders, and the superintendent must verify it in writing | Ark. Code § 6-15-1303(c); 6 CAR § 249-102 | Appropriate first responders | Every year and after substantial building changes | — |
| California | Allowed by law. Public schools with 100 or more students are encouraged, not required, to adopt a digital safety program with a grid map and digital floor plans by July 1, 2030 | Cal. Educ. Code § 32280.5 | — | — | — |
| Colorado | Required by law, with a July 1, 2030 deadline. Each school must install an exterior key box holding accurate maps of the grounds for local law enforcement, with some exemptions | C.R.S. 22-1-151 (SB 26-104) | Local law enforcement, through key box access | — | A permitted use of School Security Disbursement grants; no appropriation required |
| Connecticut | Required by state rule. School safety plans must be based on state standards, which say each school must assemble a first-responder kit with laminated floor plans | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-222m; DESPP/DEMHS plan standards (2025) | Kept in a kit for first responders | Safety plans reviewed every year | The state may run a 2026 mapping grant within available appropriations; municipalities and their police departments apply |
| Delaware | Funding only. The FY2026 state bond act directed at least $138,000 of the school safety fund to the state emergency agency (DEMA) for school mapping and other tools | FY2026 Bond and Capital Improvements Act (85 Del. Laws c. 64) | DEMA reports that maps go to police, fire, 911 centers and emergency management | — | At least $138,000 (FY2026) |
| District of Columbia | Guidance only. The Deputy Mayor for Education's playbook says schools must upload a map of each floor and a site map to the CORE DC web application | DME School Emergency Preparedness and Response Playbook (2025, guidance) | Uploaded to CORE DC | Emergency plan filed in CORE DC by the start of each school year | — |
| Florida | Required by law. Each district superintendent must give floor plans of every school facility to the law enforcement agency and fire department with jurisdiction | Fla. Stat. s. 1013.13; s. 1006.07(4)(f)-(g) | Local law enforcement and fire department | Revised plans by October 1 each year for facilities changed | $450,000 a year for the 911 digital school map system (2026-27) |
| Georgia | Required by law. Each public school must procure school mapping data by July 1, 2026, in formats that work with 911 center and public safety agency software | O.C.G.A. § 38-3-154 (HB 268, 2025) | No recipient named; the primary local police agency must agree before purchase | Verified every year by July 1, in person | $116,021,568 in FY2027 school security grants, not earmarked for maps |
| Hawaii | No law found. The 2025 state budget funds a school safety technology contract, but that provision does not mention maps or floor plans | — | — | — | — |
| Idaho | No law found. Each school must keep an emergency operations plan reviewed every year, but that statute does not mention floor plans or maps | — | — | — | — |
| Illinois | Required by state rule. Outside Chicago, each local school board must keep up-to-date safety reference plans, including a site plan and schematic floor plans, for its facilities | 23 Ill. Adm. Code 180.330; 105 ILCS 128/50 | The regional superintendent reviews them; the rule does not send them to first responders | When changes affect a facility's layout, use or capacity | Crisis response mapping grants ($2,000,000 appropriated under P.A. 103-589) |
| Indiana | Required by law. Each school safety plan must attest that floor plans went to local police and fire, or that the school did critical incident digital mapping | IC 10-21-1-10; IC 20-34-3-23 | Local law enforcement and fire department; digital maps also to the statewide 911 system | — | Secured School Safety grants can pay for digital mapping ($27,100,000 a year for the whole program) |
| Iowa | Funding only. The Governor's 2022 school safety package set aside $6 million for digital critical incident mapping technology | Governor's 2022 school safety package | — | — | $6 million (2022), initially from federal ARPA and ESSER money |
| Kansas | Funding only. The State 911 Board gives 911 centers grants to map critical facilities, K-12 schools first; school participation is voluntary | 2025 SB 125 § 135; 2026 HB 2513 § 130 | The facility owner and appropriate public safety agencies | Not grant-funded; arranged and paid for locally | At least $2,000,000 in FY2027; state funding intended to end after FY2027 |
| Kentucky | Required by law. Each school's emergency plan must include its state School Mapping Data Program data, or an AED-location diagram if that data is unavailable | KRS 158.4433; KRS 158.162 | State school security marshal, schools, local law enforcement and public safety agencies | Emergency plan reviewed after each school year with first responders | Within the 2026-28 Homeland Security budget; no dollar amount named |
| Louisiana | Funding only. A 2025 law on school blueprints and mapping data is enacted, but the official code says it takes effect only when a specific appropriation for it does | La. R.S. 17:416.16.1 (Act 425 of 2025) | Local police, state and local emergency offices, the Louisiana Center for Safe Schools and the school (once in effect) | Only with matching updates in responders' software | — |
| Maine | No law found. Each school board must approve an emergency management plan every year, but that law does not mention floor plans or maps | — | — | — | — |
| Maryland | Funding only. Local school systems may apply for state School Mapping Data Program funds, and maps made with them must meet state facility mapping standards | Md. Code, Educ. § 7-1510.1 | — | — | The Safe Schools Fund may pay for the mapping program |
| Massachusetts | Required by law, for state-approved building projects. The School Building Authority must send approved school construction plans to local police, fire and MEMA | M.G.L. c. 70B § 20 | Local police, fire, MEMA and regional law enforcement | As-built plans after construction, subject to appropriation | — |
| Michigan | Required by law. Each school board must work with local police so building plans or critical incident mapping data, and site plans, for each school go to local law enforcement | MCL 380.1308(9) | The appropriate local law enforcement agency | — | $400,000 critical incident mapping grant in FY2025-26, not renewed for FY2026-27 |
| Minnesota | Guidance only. The state model crisis policy says each school building will have a facility diagram and site plan; the crisis policy law does not mention maps | MDE Model Crisis Management Policy (2024, guidance) | First responders, on request (model policy) | Regularly and after major building changes (model policy) | — |
| Mississippi | Guidance only. The state School Safety Manual says utility shut-off valves must be noted on the school map, and annual threat assessments inspect floor plans | MDE School Safety Manual (guidance); Miss. Code Ann. § 37-3-93(3) | — | Floor plans inspected in each annual threat assessment | — |
| Missouri | No law found. Districts and charter schools must adopt an emergency operations plan and share it with police, fire and emergency management; we found no map duty | — | — | — | — |
| Montana | No law found. Each district must adopt a school safety or emergency operations plan, reviewed every year, but the statute does not name floor plans or maps | — | — | — | — |
| Nebraska | Allowed by law. Public and accredited private schools may adopt a policy to give mapping data to public safety agencies, and adopting schools must meet state map standards | Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 79-3110, 79-3111 | Police, fire and emergency care agencies (if a policy is adopted) | Verified by walk-through every year | School Emergency Response Mapping Fund grants; $525,000 for FY2024-25 |
| Nevada | Required by law, on request. Public and private schools must give their most current blueprint to a public safety agency that asks for it | NRS 393.045; NRS 394.16975 | Fire, police or EMS, on request | Responders get a chance to study blueprints at least every 3 years | — |
| New Hampshire | Allowed by law. A school with a schematic floor plan may, with school board approval, submit it digitally to the state homeland security and emergency management division | RSA 189:64, IV | State homeland security and emergency management division (optional) | — | The Public School Infrastructure Fund may pay for critical incident mapping technology |
| New Jersey | Required by law. School boards, charter schools and nonpublic schools must give critical incident mapping data for all schools and grounds to local law enforcement | N.J.S.A. 18A:41-7.1 | Local law enforcement, or an entity the State Police designates | Whenever the data changes; verified by annual walkthrough | $6.5 million in federal funds (2022), plus about $5.79 million (2023) |
| New Mexico | Guidance only. The state education department's safe school plan template asks for campus maps and floor plans with utility cut-offs; its rule does not name maps | PED Safe School Plan Template, SY 2026-27 (guidance) | Local first responder agencies (template) | Plan reviewed every year (template) | — |
| New York | Required by law. Each building-level emergency response plan must include floor plans, blueprints or other maps of the school interior and grounds | N.Y. Educ. Law §§ 2801-a, 408-b; 8 NYCRR § 155.17 | Local law enforcement and State Police; building plans also to local fire officials | Plan reviewed at least yearly; filed by October 1 | — |
| North Carolina | Required by law. Each public school unit must give local law enforcement and the state Division of Emergency Management schematic diagrams, including digital ones | G.S. 115C-105.53, 115C-105.54; G.S. 143B-1209.103 | Local law enforcement and the state Division of Emergency Management | After substantial building changes | $1,300,000 recurring plus $13,000,000 one-time for school mapping (FY 2026-27) |
| North Dakota | No law found. North Dakota's school safety plan law allows, but does not require, a district board to develop a safety plan | — | — | — | — |
| Ohio | Required by law. Each school's emergency management plan must include a floor plan for each floor and a site plan, filed with the state and local law enforcement | Ohio Rev. Code 5502.262; Ohio Adm.Code 4501:5-1-01 | Director of Public Safety and local law enforcement; fire, EMS and county emergency management on request | Certified current by Sept. 1 each year; resubmitted at least every 3 years | School Safety Training Grants, $10,000,000 a year (general, not mapping) |
| Oklahoma | Allowed by law. A district that chooses to map its campuses must follow state mapping data standards; mapping itself is optional | 70 O.S. § 5-148.4 | Responders, through state-listed panic alert systems during 911 calls | Only with matching updates in responders' software | — |
| Oregon | No law found. Every school's emergency safeguards must cover building security, but the law does not mention maps or floor plans | — | — | — | — |
| Pennsylvania | Required by state rule. By September 30 each year, each school entity must assemble floor plans and a campus map, ready for the incident command post | 22 Pa. Code § 10.24(g); 24 P.S. § 13-1322-B | Ready for local police and fire at the incident command post | Assembled by September 30 each year | Mapping contracts paid with state money must meet state standards |
| Rhode Island | Required by law. Each school building's emergency response plan must include procedures giving crisis response and law enforcement officials access to floor plans or other maps | R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-21-24(b)(3) | Crisis response and law enforcement officials | Plans reviewed and updated each year by November 1 | — |
| South Carolina | Required by law, in the yearly budget act. Subject to funding, the state education department must contract a vendor to give mapping data to districts, police and public safety agencies | FY 2026-27 Appropriations Act (H. 5126), proviso 1.104 | Each school district, local law enforcement and public safety agency | Kept updated in responders' software | Districts pay a yearly maintenance fee of up to $650 per school |
| South Dakota | No law found. A state rule requires each school board to prepare a written safety plan, filed with the local superintendent, but it says nothing about maps | — | — | — | — |
| Tennessee | Allowed by law. Districts and public charter schools may provide digital school mapping data for each building; if they do, it must meet state standards | Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-804(i) | Local first responder agencies | — | State school safety grants may pay for mapping data and a vendor |
| Texas | Required by law. Each district and open-enrollment charter school must give an accurate map of each campus and building to DPS, local police and first responders | Tex. Educ. Code § 37.117; 19 TAC § 103.1215 | DPS, local law enforcement, first responders and emergency services districts; the rule adds the local 9-1-1 entity | Compliance certified every year in safety audits | The school safety allotment may pay for exterior door numbering |
| Utah | Required by law. Districts and charter schools must put key box locations in the schematic diagrams they give emergency responders, and mark hallways and doorways to the state's response system | Utah Code 53G-8-805; Utah Admin. Code R277-400 | Emergency responders (police, fire, EMS) | Grid markings kept legible; plans reviewed at least every 3 years | — |
| Vermont | Guidance only. State school safety guidance says each district's emergency plan should include maps and floor plans of each school and a district map | VSSC Emergency Operations Planning Guide (2024, guidance) | Local first responders (guidance) | Plan reviewed every year with first responders | — |
| Virginia | Required by law. In each yearly safety audit, the school board must create a detailed floor plan for each public school building or certify that the existing one is accurate | Va. Code § 22.1-279.8(B) | — | Every year, in the school safety audit | State digital mapping program, up to $3,500 per school mapped, as funding allows |
| Washington | No law found. Washington repealed its statewide first responder building mapping law in 2021 and moved the school data to the state education office (OSPI) | — | — | — | — |
| West Virginia | Required by law. Each county board must create standardized school safety mapping data and give it to the state board, state emergency management and local police, fire and EMS | W. Va. Code §§ 18-9F-10a, 18-9F-10 | State board of education, state emergency management (DHSEM), local police, fire and EMS | Updated floor plans to responders by September 1 each school year | Up to $4,500 per school, subject to funding; $2,900,000 set aside in FY2026 |
| Wisconsin | Required by law. Public school boards and private schools must send their latest blueprints or interactive critical mapping data for each building to local police and the Office of School Safety | Wis. Stat. § 118.07(4)(cf) | Local law enforcement and the state Office of School Safety | With each safety plan review, at least every 3 years | State Justice Department mapping grants, up to $5,000 per building |
| Wyoming | No law found. The attorney general runs a school safety call center to help coordinate police, responders and districts; that law does not mention maps | — | — | — | — |
"No law found" means we searched the official legislature, code and state agency sites and found no law or rule on school floor plans or maps. It is not proof that none exists.
Who must receive school maps?
Michigan school boards must make sure building plans or critical incident mapping data reach "the appropriate local law enforcement agency," and Wisconsin schools send theirs to local law enforcement and the state Office of School Safety. Some states add the fire department. Florida superintendents must give floor plans to the law enforcement agency and fire department with jurisdiction, and Indiana school safety plans must attest that floor plans went to both, unless the school did critical incident digital mapping instead. A few name 911 centers. Indiana's digital mapping option sends the data to the statewide 911 system, and a Texas rule sends electronic door-numbering site plans to the local 9-1-1 administrative entity. Some send maps to a state agency. North Carolina schools must give schematic diagrams to the state Division of Emergency Management, Ohio schools submit plans with floor and site plans to the Director of Public Safety, and West Virginia mapping data goes to the state board of education and the state emergency management division.
What must a school map show, and in what format?
Georgia's law, for example, requires each public school's mapping data to label rooms, doors, stairwells and hallways, using the names staff and students use, plus critical utilities, key boxes, AEDs and trauma kits, and parking areas, athletic fields and surrounding roads. Florida's mapping data must be digital, must work with public safety agencies' software without extra purchases or fees, and must be printable. West Virginia adds that the data must open in open-source document or image viewers and be oriented to true north with a fixed x/y grid. New York sets labeling rules by regulation: floor plans must show a symbol key, a north compass, and lettered or numbered entrances and exits.
How often must school maps be updated?
It varies. Georgia requires the producer to verify mapping data by July 1 each year through an in-person inspection, and New Jersey requires an annual walkthrough plus revised data any time the data changes. Arkansas schools must send updated floor plans every year and when substantial building changes are made, and Florida superintendents must send revised floor plans by October 1 for facilities changed the year before. Ohio administrators must certify by September 1 each year that the plan is current and accurate, and Nevada's school safety specialists must give first responders a chance to study school blueprints at least once every 3 years.
Are school maps kept confidential?
In several states, yes. Alabama's school mapping data is confidential and not a public record, and Arkansas floor plans given to first responders are not available for public inspection. Kentucky excludes school mapping data from its Open Records Act, and West Virginia's mapping data is not subject to its Freedom of Information Act. Arizona exempts school blueprints and floor plans from public records, and North Carolina's schematic diagrams are not public records. In New York, building-level plans, which include the maps, are exempt from the Freedom of Information Law.
How do states pay for school mapping?
Some legislatures fund it directly. Alabama gave its state police agency $2,000,000 for school mapping in FY2027, and North Carolina's FY 2026-27 budget carries $1,300,000 recurring plus $13,000,000 one-time for critical incident school mapping. Others use per-school grants. Wisconsin's mapping grant allows up to $5,000 per building, West Virginia county boards may receive up to $4,500 per school subject to funding, and Virginia's state program caps funding at $3,500 per school mapped. Kansas routes the money through 911 centers: the State 911 Board must spend at least $2,000,000 in FY2027 on its critical facility mapping grants, which put K-12 schools first. Funding can stop. Michigan's FY2026-27 budget did not renew its State Police critical incident mapping grant.
State guides
Alabama · Arkansas · Colorado · Connecticut · Florida · Georgia · Illinois · Indiana · Kentucky · Massachusetts · Michigan · Nevada · New Jersey · New York · North Carolina · Ohio · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · Texas · Utah · Virginia · West Virginia · Wisconsin
How can QuickSecure help?
QuickSecure builds your campus floor plans in Nexus from your building drawings. They show every room by name, every door and exit, and where your AEDs, fire extinguishers and fire alarms are.
Administrators can open the plans in the dashboard at any time.
In a Lockdown, Nexus shows on the floor plan which rooms are secured.
Dispatch sends the building, address and room to 911 through RapidSOS.
This is not a statement that any product satisfies a state's law; read your state's page and ask your counsel.