Is your school ready for Texas Senate Bill 838?

Senate Bill 838 states that every classroom in Texas needs to have a silent panic alarm technology beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. Currently the definition of silent panic alert technology seems vague but is something to watch as the due date gets closer.

Sec. 37.117. SILENT PANIC ALERT TECHNOLOGY. Each school district and open-enrollment charter school shall provide each classroom in the district or school with silent panic alert technology that allows for immediate contact with district or school emergency services and emergency services agencies, law enforcement agencies, health departments, and fire departments.

Senate Bill 838

This bill is in addition to the previous education code 37.108 that required all classrooms to have a phone installed.

Measures to ensure district employees, including substitute teachers, have classroom access to a telephone, including a cellular telephone, or another electronic communication device allowing for immediate contact with district emergency services or emergency services agencies, law enforcement agencies, health departments, and fire departments.

Education Code 37.108

Best case scenario is programming a busy lamp field (BLF) to call emergency services on existing classroom phones to meet the requirements. I do not think this will be the case since a normal phone call has a dial tone, ring, and answer. None of which are silent.

Another option if you are using a modern phone system would be to create a custom call flow that when you dial the extension, it records the callers information and then hangs up. Next step on the flow would be for it to call emergency services and relay the caller information such as name and extension. This would be silent from the classroom side since the phone system hangs up on the classroom and then makes the emergency call for them.

Example Call Flow

1. Classroom phone hits BLF line that speed dials an internal emergency number 987.
2. Call flow server extension 987 records inbound call extension and name.
3. Call flow server extension 987 hangs up on the classroom phone.
4. Call flow server calls internal emergency services and relays classroom extension and name.
5. Call flow server could also send out email or sms to notify staff of an emergency.

Worse case scenario is your school is not in compliance with previous education code 37.108 so you need to install a phone in every classroom and add an additional device such as the Viking PB-3 for a dedicated panic button. This could involve cabling and additional hardware.

Viking PB-3 Key Features:

• Works with any SIP VOIP system as a phone extension. This allows you to page, call, sms and use other phone system features.
• Built like a tank with a full metal case.
• POE so you do not need to run power.
• Acts like a speaker phone when the button is pressed or set the button for one way audio so you can hear what is going on.
• Audible beep if the SIP connection is lost so you always know if it is working.

Open Questions

• Will a BLF speed dial be considered silent?
• Is a visual indicator also an issue? For example, LED that turns color when a button is pressed.
• Will any vendor come out with a panic button add-on for existing phones?
• Does the system need to contact district personnel AND emergency services?
• Is a button considered silent because it does not set off a traditional burglary or fire horn?

Hopefully, we will receive more information soon so we can all work together to make schools safer.

I will follow up with Texas Senator Brandon Creighton and update this article if I receive more information.