School Emergency Response Pilot Nears Completion

Vegas PBS (KLVX, Las Vegas) is creating a potentially life-saving program for public schools designed to protect students in case of an emergency situation.

Vegas PBS is working with Chantilly, Va.-based SpectraRep and local emergency management coordinators to complete the pilot phase of the program. The station’s digital frequency carries a signal that will enable schools and authorities to respond to an emergency situation quickly and accurately.

The program was instituted after Nevada passed legislation in response to the 1999 Columbine school shooting. The law requires public schools to make blueprints of their buildings available to the state department of emergency management. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the state also passed similar laws for casinos, state universities and other public buildings.

This legislation required that information regarding layouts of sites, placement of emergency exits, automated response systems and other vital, life-saving information be placed in a database accessible in case of emergency.

Using its technology and digital capacity, Vegas PBS has spearheaded the movement to take the data gathered under Nevada mandate and provide it in an accessible way to those responding to an emergency situation. Vegas PBS and SpectraRep created a prototype datacasting system for public education.

The pilot phase will be finished this fall, and 200 police vehicles will be equipped with omni-directional antennas and a converter box that will allow their Toughbooks to receive data.