At first glance, this idea gets an "A" for effort. But let's think it all the way through:

a) It would cost a LOT of money to implement this. Who pays? Taxpayers, of course.
b) Where would the button(s) be located? Just in the main office? Or also in every classroom? Cafeteria? Bathrooms? Library? Gym? Locker Rooms? Any place where something worthy of reporting to the police could take place? That's everywhere, right? Remember, each additional button probably costs hundreds of dollars to install.
c) How would these panic buttons be secured so students couldn't falsely trigger them? Or would they need to be monitored by cameras? Or protected by an exploding ink cartridge that stains the hand of the person who triggers it?
d) That reminds me - don't schools already have fire alarms that can also be used to notify authorities of an emergency? Sure, they're not silent. But in the type of emergency we are trying to address, what is the value of the silence? Especially since the perp will already know that every school has a silent panic alarm, so the effect is lost.
e) What is wrong with just calling 911? Even if you pick up the phone and quickly dial 911 and set the handset down on without speaking, the cops will be coming immediately, especially if the call is coming from a school, right?
f) Imagine that each school at which there has ever been a shooting had a silent panic alarm installed. Would the outcome have been any different? Not much, I strongly suspect.

Sounds good but kids will be kids, how do you prevent false alarms?

With every man, woman, and child in this country walking around with a communications center in their pocket, I don't know if this idea is the best place to concentrate our efforts. This, and every other attempt to effectively deal with more shootings rather than limiting gun access, should take a back seat for now.

Sounds like something that can provide increased security at moderate cost. I'm not sure that having it be a silent alarm is the way to go.

I'd like to know more about this--where it would lie, how it would be used--in order to understand its full utilitarian value. What about installing the same withIN the classroom, instead of guns, like the NRA has proposed? Banks were at one time wide open, and now many have bulletproof glass, sadly. They may have more dollars to risk, but we have children. Sprinkler systems that respond in a split second when there is smoke, as well as smoke detectors, have saved thousands of lives. What kind of concrete applications like these can we install in classrooms so our citizens--children and adults--are protected, as well instead of having to resort to more violence to stop violence?

Love to hear more thoughts, all around --
Cindi Cook, Basking Ridge

makes more sense than armed guards

Why do politicians feel so compelled to come up with nonsense?

Seems to make sense but kids will be kids so how do you prevent false alarms?

Yeah, great idea. At least the school staff can be spared the alarm noise while cowering under their desks waiting for "first" responders who will always arrive after an active shooter has already started his killing.

Actually this is a terrific proposal. I ran operations for an International company with multiple facilities in the United States. Each receptionist in the front of the building had a panic alarm installed by their desk to use for an emergency. Unlike the idiotic proposal by the head of the NRA this proposal makes all of the sense in the world and should be implemented

Good idea.

No, sorry...by the time police arrive it is too late and I can't afford to lose my child-can you afford to lose yours?? Put armed Veterans( they know best how to protect!) at the schools! It's the only way to protect our precious children!

Ask these geniuses why New Jersey residents cannot purchase stun guns for their own personal safety maybe that would discourage more from obtaining firearms.

This is a great idea. I would go even further in terms of infrastructure improvements. Why not outfit the schools with bulletproof glass. Our federal buildings currently have such measures, why not schools. I believe our school buildings should be physically just as as strong as any federal building.

Great idea until the kids know where they are and decide for spontaneous recess. Cameras on the buttons would deter that, I think.

...that will cost a lot of money and not do a darn thing. So let me get this straight the killer enters the school with a gun. The school buzzes him/her(less likely) in. The student then takes out his pistol shoots the person at the point of entry. After hearing gun shots an admin/principleLet me repeat/etc... with a phone will hit the silent alarm button. In ten minutes the cops will be there. In ten minutes how many will be dead? Look the only thing that could have saved SOME of those kids at Sandy Hook, Colmbine or VA tech would have been ARMED and TRAINED security. Yes it requires guns! You can ban all the guns in the guns in the world, criminals will find them (that's why they are criminals). Ban clips with more than 10 bullets, the criminals will carry multiple clips. Its not that hard.

In my opinion, the Principal, Vice Principal and two other professionals at a school need to carry a weapon on themselves and be trained. Training should be incorporated within the states Police Academies. Where the principal is out of the school a police officer should be present. If such a strategy is instituted two things will happen 1.) there will be no gun violence at such school (as the school is no longer an EASY target 2.) If there is violence such violence will be minimized.

Talks about silent alarms, banning guns are feel good solutions which do nothing!

Great idea, but like many of these thoughts from legislators, who is going to pay for it
?

Panic buttons? How about a trigger button. As the head of NRA said "it takes a good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun"....waiting for the police, who are the good guys with guns, even if 2 mins will result in deaths. Arm the schools!!!

A friend of mine and I were recently discussing what a great idea this would be. What can we do to help get it done?

That is a good idea. It should also lock all Classroom doors (Still allow exiting, and doors should be bullet proof) Notify Teachers somehow in classrooms, as well as notify the police.

Big over-reaction and a waste of taxpayers' money. If there's a problem, pick up a phone and call the police.

Now there is a sensible idea...it would be a good start

That is very good thinking, as long as the alarm couldn't be "cut" or tampered with - the technology selected should not be publicized.

I hope they do, its an excellent idea!

Now this is something that's do-able...relatively inexpensive, and quickly installed. The armed guards/gun control arguments could drag on for a long time, and meanwhile, no one's doing anything. Thank you, Assemblyman Caputo.

Absolutly necessary this should be fed law and funded no reason any school should not be able to have this simple technology that would enhance Saftey in our schools for our kids. This is something that should be done immediately without all the procrastination!

They should use the money that was just taken out of every single working man and woman's PAYCHECK.

How about putting 911 on speed dial? There's your button!

Does 911 not work anymore? Another example of a full time legislator wanting to get his name in the paper shooting from the hip.

I am not sure about this panic button idea but I do think a police substation outside each of our schools is necessary for the safety of our children. Yes, I know it will take money to make this happen, but we have so many generous and concerned parents in New Milford that nothing is impossible when it comes to the well being of our kids. Services such as electrical and construction materials, just to name a few, could be donated and volunteers would be plentiful for such a good cause. Our High School SRO has been placed closer to the school entrance but our Middle School SRO has been relocated to the second floor due to construction work. We were told that "both" of these SRO's were "strategically" placed in the schools after the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook. Well, unless a killer is climbing thru a second floor window at the DEO MS the new location of our SRO is useless to all.

the preschool i taught at had them.. great idea, we also had code words and panic code announcements that no one would ever guess.

I like the idea. Having worked in a bank for 2 years, I felt safe knowing that I had a button right there to push in case anything happened. For those that knock it you should learn more about it before you rule it out. There were some people on here who think the kids will make false alarms, if you put it under the teacher's desk where their legs go but not where a leg could hit it like they do in the bank there will not be a problem, plus the fact you don't tell the kids where it is. With the right training which is not that hard to comprehend it would be a effective tool. It may not be the complete answer but it's a good start. Gun control will be the ideal answer but you should really learn more about this before you "pooh-pooh" it away

how about doing something about the mentally unstable people in our country?

Someone doesn't know what he governs. Our 911 system already does that. All the schools need to do is program their phones to speed dial 911. Once a call is connect to 911, police are dispatched regardless if there is a caller on the other end or not! They also know it came from a school.

Besides I don’t think the outcome at Sandy Hook would have been any different if they had a panic button or not.

We need to spend our money and make laws that are effective. The absolute best way to do that now is to make all States a Must Issue State, not a Can Issue (which means NO) like here and in Ct. There is no magic; we can’t wave a magic wand and wish guns away. Also, limiting the amount of bullets a gun can use is as stupid as Bloomberg’s Big Soda Ban. Think about it!!!! It means if a shooter wants more ammo, he’ll have to carry more guns. That means if one of them malfunctions, then thanks to government regulations he’ll have a few others to fall back on.

If Sandy Hook’s principal, or janitor had been armed, we may have been reading a story in the papers about a principal or janitor who saved a bunch of kids from a crazy man, instead of this tragic outcome!

@Ryan, I'm ashamed of myself for not realizing that the fire alarm would indeed bring everyone out into the hall. I've been through enough fire drills in 24 years...I should have known. Good thinking!

I've seen schools with phones leading to the police department or emergency office in each classroom before. Private schools of course. Completely implementable in public schools.

Edwrard P. Campbell-since this idea was given to the Assemblyman by the POLICE I think they would know a better way for them to get there than anyone else.

At our school, certain personnel carries alarm fobs to notify police. A generic 911 call might just be for someone requiring an ambulance after having been hurt during gym - activating the "panic" alarm fob will draw an entirely different response.

Yes, the "fire alarm before/during active shooter" scenario needs to be thought through and practiced at schools.

I can't believe how worried people are about the cost of possibly saving an innocent child's life!!! If we were talking about their material possessions then that would be a different story. Also the idea of armed vets or police is a double edged sword. I talked about this with my sons principal. Yes we would have someone who is trained to protect and serve...but who's to say they don't crack up one day and decide to take it out on our kids. I'm just sick to my stomach about all of this...it certainly isn't a fun time to be a parent.

Good idea??!! Am I missing something? How would a panic button have prevented Adam Lanza from killing 26 people at Newtown school? C' mon people...THINK!

Another dumb idea. This is the age of technology-teacher's (smart, cell) phones could just be permitted in the classroom. In many schools that I have visited, I notice that there are no working phones in the classroom, no way to contact the office except an antiquated lever that connects the teacher to the main office. If we don't have updated communication systems in the classroom already, how will a button help? So silly. This legislator obviously has no idea what the average classroom resources are and he must not have a cell phone.

Does this kind of discussion really benefit our children? Does it make them more secure? Or does this discussion simply not lead to more copy-cat irrational killings.

We can all ensure our phones are able to speed-dial 911. We can give every administrator and every teacher a panic button. We can put a policeman or armed veteran or armed parent in every school, every classroom, on every corner. We can put bulletproof glass in all school doors and windows. We can put a police sub-station in front of every school with a huge sign: "Beware Crazy Shooters, Police!"

None of these actions are likely to actually stop or even significantly deter an angry Montclair 16-year old armed with semi-automatic weapons, hand guns, and anything else dad and mom might have in the home arsenal to ensure their constitutional rights.

We should reflect more on what kind of a society we want to live in and what kind of an environment we want our children to grow up in. Rather than investing in a culture of fear and militarism, monies that go to our schools should be used to teach our children to act responsibly, no matter how disjointed their week has been, no matter how angry they are.

Oh dear. I have soiled myself again. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can avoid this but still maintain my high fiber diet?