BRENHAM, Texas (KBTX) – During the 88th Texas Legislative session, Senate Bill 838 was passed, requiring all classrooms to have silent panic alert technology (SPAT). Brenham ISD uses a panic button equipped on classroom phones.
Joe Merkley, safety and security Coordinator for the district, explained to KBTX how the technology works.
“When the button is pushed, it goes to a dispatch center for fire, police and EMS, the Health Department, as well as district administration and campus administration,” he listed.
Each school can implement their choice of technology, and Brenham ISD opted to program the red button phones already have in each classroom.
Brenham ISD Chief Communications and Engagement Officer Brooke Trahan told KBTX extra safety measures are in place so that the buttons aren’t misused.
“There’s instructions on each phone so nobody can accidentally click it,” she assured. “You actually have to click once and then again to confirm.”
The button is there for teachers, students, substitute teachers, and anyone in the buildings to use. The change came after the mass school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida back in 2018, and more recently the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde in 2022. Teachers at Brenham Elementary said they were grateful for the added layer of protection.
Elementary teacher Stacy Ferretti said, “I just feel like it’s an added layer of safety and that we have another means of contacting someone in the event that we have an emergency.”
Brenham ISD Director of Technology Dr. Brittni Kalich said she was glad they had this new technology in schools.
“As a former educator, I’m just so glad that there’s something like this in our classrooms so anybody can press it. It doesn’t just have to be the teacher. If the teachers hurt, then a student [can] go over there and it’s [easily] accessible to them,” added Dr. Kalich.
Like a fire alarm, there are consequences for misusing the SPAT buttons, but ample training over the summer has Brenham ISD officials ready for the change in the classroom. Merkley said first responders can get anywhere in Washington County within three minutes of being called.
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