HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1770        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 426

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

James Arciero

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act implementing automated emergency response communications and coordination between Massachusetts schools with first responders.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1770        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 426

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

_______________

An Act implementing automated emergency response communications and coordination between Massachusetts schools with first responders.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1     Automated School Emergency Response Program

(a)  There shall be established an automated school emergency response program administered by the Department of Education pursuant to which school districts and serving first responder agencies may purchase and acquire automated emergency response systems meeting the functional and security requirements described in Subsections (b) and (c) below.   The program shall be funded each year as prescribed by the Department of Education for the acquisition and maintenance of such systems by school district and cognizant first responder agencies pursuant regulations adopted by the Department.

(b)  Subject to available funding under the program described in Subsection (a). school districts   may purchase and maintain automated emergency response system with their cognizant public safety agency and the serving public safety answering point or emergency communications center to provide automated emergency-incident-based real-time collaboration between their schools and police meeting the following requirements, where technically feasible:

(1) The system is an interoperable multimedia communications system that enables public safety agencies, the PSAPs, and the schools they serve, to directly communicate with one another utilizing existing communications systems, including connecting day-to-day use school radio systems or push to talk applications with first responder systems.

(2)  The system enables live school cameras to be securely shared with police upon emergency incident initiation where the location of the cameras and live views are displayed on the floor plan and may be a remotely viewed by incident responders from a floor plan view for situational context.

(3) The system authenticates a system users’ identity, location, and operational status during an incident.

(4)  The system integrates with school panic alarm systems that, when activated, establish direct emergency incident collaboration between schools and public safety agencies enabling direct communications with primary law enforcement, the PSAP, and appropriate mutual aid agencies and the simultaneous sharing of live video and floor plans through such system.

(5) The system enables dynamic interoperable radio communications between first responder agencies who may be using incompatible or different radio communications systems or channels.

(5) The system enables secure text messaging and file sharing among agencies involved in a collaboration incident.

(6) System users should be able to perform dispatch endpoint radio transmit voice transmit and receive functions, view and send video, text messages and files, and view floor plan with camera location displays from a single application view.

(b)  The system in subsection (b) shall be cybersecure and be designed to protect the privacy of students and staff by meeting the following requirements:

(1)  The system is a enables each participating entity to maintain discretionary real-time control over its communications, video and information assets.

(2)  All media communications are encrypted to a standard of at least AES 256.

(3) The system enables law enforcement to access real-time or near-real-time school video only during an emergency incident session without employing the use of hyperlinks, universal resource locators, passwords, user login or other unsecured methods via email, text, SMS or other similar means.

(4)  The system sends communication and all media from one party directly to other incident parties without such content being stored in, copied to or accessible via a third party owned, controlled or administered digital storage or file sharing system. 

(5) The system is certified under the federal Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 (SAFETY Act, enacted as Subtitle G of Title VIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296)) as a qualified antiterrorism technology.

(6) The system is compatible and interoperates with the Federal Emergency Management Agency interoperable gateway system for large-scale disaster communications.

(7)  The system is Systems and Organizations Controls 2 (SOC 2) certified.