Georgia school safety

School safety mapping laws & grants in Georgia

Yes. Under Ricky and Alyssa's Law, every Georgia public school must procure interoperable school mapping data, floor plans, aerial imagery, and labeled access points and emergency assets, by July 1, 2026, with in-person accuracy verification each year after. The deadline is close, and the accuracy bar is high.

Georgia's Ricky and Alyssa's Law (HB 268, 2025) requires every public school to procure interoperable digital school mapping data - floor plans, aerial imagery, and labeled access points/utilities/emergency assets - usable by 911 centers and first responders, by July 1, 2026, with annual in-person accuracy verification. A companion panic-alert mandate (Alyssa's Alert) must integrate with that mapping data.[1]

Why this matters in Georgia

Why Georgia schools need this now

Every one of Georgia's 2,327 public schools faces a hard July 1, 2026 deadline to procure interoperable mapping data, and the bar climbs each year after with mandatory in-person re-verification. Districts that wait will scramble against a fixed date; the ones acting now lock in a model their 911 centers can open without buying new software, before a responder ever arrives at an unfamiliar campus.

The mandate

What Georgia law requires

Law
Ricky and Alyssa's Law (House Bill 268, 2025 - Comprehensive School Safety provisions)[1]
Statute
O.C.G.A. § 38-3-154 (school mapping data); § 38-3-151(4) (definition); § 20-2-591 (Alyssa's Alert panic system). Enacted by 2025 Ga. HB 268, signed Apr. 28, 2025.[1]
Compliance
July 1, 2026 (initial procurement of school mapping data and panic alert system); accuracy re-verification by July 1 each year thereafter. Act effective July 1, 2025.[1]

What schools must provide: Not later than July 1, 2026, each public school must procure 'school mapping data' (building information, floor plans, and aerial imagery). The data must: (1) be in formats that conform to and integrate with software platforms used by local public safety answering points (PSAPs) and local/state/federal public safety agencies, without requiring those agencies to buy additional software; (2) be printable, electronically shareable, and (if requested) digitally integrated into interactive mobile platforms; (3) be verified for accuracy by July 1 each year via in-person inspection; (4) identify and label interior access points (rooms, doors, stairwells, hallways) using identifiers/names used by staff and students; (5) identify and label critical utilities, key boxes, AEDs, and trauma kits; (6) identify and label exterior areas (parking, athletic fields, surrounding roads, outbuildings, neighboring properties). Local school systems must collaborate with and receive concurrence from their primary local law enforcement agency before procuring. GEMA/HS may adopt rules for standards, encryption, and secure transmission to first responders. Data is exempt from public disclosure (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72). A companion mandate (§ 20-2-591) requires a mobile panic alert system ('Alyssa's Alert') by July 1, 2026 that integrates with the § 38-3-154 mapping data and NG9-1-1.[1]

Funding

Grants that help Georgia schools pay for it

Districts often combine state and federal programs to fund first-responder mapping, AI threat detection, and emergency communications. We list only currently open or recurring programs; amounts and deadlines change, so confirm each at its official source before applying.

Federal programs (available nationwide)

COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP)Annual
Funding FY26: up to $73,000,000 total available, awarded over a 3-year (36-month) period with at least a 25% local cash match required (waiver possible) and approximately $1,000,000 reserved for microgrants of up to $100,000 for rural, tribal, and low-resourced school districts. Confirm the current per-award cap directly on the official COPS SVPP program page before applying, as the FY26 figure is being finalized.
Coordination with law enforcement; training for school personnel and local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence against others and self; placement/use of metal detectors, locks, lighting and other deterrent measures; acquisition and installation of technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency; other Director-approved security improvements at K-12 schools and on school grounds. (This is the COPS-administered arm of the STOP School Violence Act of 2018, focused on security equipment/technology and training.) (U.S. Department of Justice - Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office))
Deadline: FY26: Grants.gov SF-424 by Aug 4, 2026 4:59 PM ET; JustGrants by Aug 11, 2026 4:59 PM ET. Annual competitive cycle (typically opens spring/summer each fiscal year).Listing: 16.710[2]
Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence)Rolling
Funding Two tiers, both at Secretary's discretion (subject to appropriations) sized to the incident: Immediate Services (emergency short-term assistance) and Extended Services (longer recovery). No fixed published cap on the official ed.gov page; funding amounts and project periods are established case-by-case to reflect the scope of the incident and recovery needs.
Short-term education-related services to help schools/campuses recover from and respond to a violent or traumatic event and restore the learning environment (e.g., mental health/counseling support, security and safety measures during recovery, substitute staffing, overtime, communication). Qualifying events: school shootings, suicide clusters, terrorism, natural disasters, school bus accidents, student homicides, hate crimes (non-exhaustive). (U.S. Department of Education - Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), Safe and Supportive Schools)
Recurring program, confirm the current cycle at the sourceListing: 84.184S[3]

See full details on each federal funding program, including eligibility, deadlines, and how each can apply to responder-ready mapping.

How schools comply

From paper plans to a map responders can actually use

Georgia's statute is unusually specific: the data has to integrate with what 911 centers already run, get re-verified in person annually, and label everything from key boxes to AEDs. Ark delivers exactly that as a live 3D digital twin from one LiDAR and drone scan, connected to responders through RapidSOS with no new software for them to buy. Static PDFs go stale the moment a building changes, and they cannot be shared live with arriving units.

Ark Strategic builds a live 3D digital twin of a campus from a LiDAR and drone scan, often completed in a single day though larger campuses can take longer, with every room, exit, utility shutoff, AED, and access point labeled. Responders reach it two ways, neither of which requires anything new to install: through RapidSOS, the platform already connected to the vast majority of US 911 centers, or in any web browser, since the twin runs in the cloud. Either way, your 911 center and on-scene units see the campus inside tools they already have.

A flat floor plan tells responders where the walls are. A digital twin shows them where to go. The platform and setup are bundled into one deployment, often grant-funded, so there is no separate software line item for the district. See how the K-12 platform works.

FAQ

Georgia school safety, answered

Does Georgia require school safety mapping?
Yes. Under Ricky and Alyssa's Law, every Georgia public school must procure interoperable school mapping data, floor plans, aerial imagery, and labeled access points and emergency assets, by July 1, 2026, with in-person accuracy verification each year after. The deadline is close, and the accuracy bar is high. Georgia's Ricky and Alyssa's Law (HB 268, 2025) requires every public school to procure interoperable digital school mapping data - floor plans, aerial imagery, and labeled access points/utilities/emergency assets - usable by 911 centers and first responders, by July 1, 2026, with annual in-person accuracy verification. A companion panic-alert mandate (Alyssa's Alert) must integrate with that mapping data.
What does Ricky and Alyssa's Law (House Bill 268, 2025 - Comprehensive School Safety provisions) require?
Not later than July 1, 2026, each public school must procure 'school mapping data' (building information, floor plans, and aerial imagery). The data must: (1) be in formats that conform to and integrate with software platforms used by local public safety answering points (PSAPs) and local/state/federal public safety agencies, without requiring those agencies to buy additional software; (2) be printable, electronically shareable, and (if requested) digitally integrated into interactive mobile platforms; (3) be verified for accuracy by July 1 each year via in-person inspection; (4) identify and label interior access points (rooms, doors, stairwells, hallways) using identifiers/names used by staff and students; (5) identify and label critical utilities, key boxes, AEDs, and trauma kits; (6) identify and label exterior areas (parking, athletic fields, surrounding roads, outbuildings, neighboring properties). Local school systems must collaborate with and receive concurrence from their primary local law enforcement agency before procuring. GEMA/HS may adopt rules for standards, encryption, and secure transmission to first responders. Data is exempt from public disclosure (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72). A companion mandate (§ 20-2-591) requires a mobile panic alert system ('Alyssa's Alert') by July 1, 2026 that integrates with the § 38-3-154 mapping data and NG9-1-1.
When must Georgia schools comply?
July 1, 2026 (initial procurement of school mapping data and panic alert system); accuracy re-verification by July 1 each year thereafter. Act effective July 1, 2025. Ricky and Alyssa's Law (House Bill 268, 2025 - Comprehensive School Safety provisions). Districts should confirm current timelines with their state education agency.
What grants help Georgia schools pay for safety mapping?
Georgia districts may be eligible for programs including COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP), Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence). Eligibility, amounts, and deadlines vary by program and should be confirmed at each program's official source.
What is critical incident mapping?
Critical incident mapping is the practice of giving first responders accurate, current digital maps of a building, with rooms, exits, utility shutoffs, AEDs, and access points labeled and shareable in real time, so police, fire, and EMS can navigate an unfamiliar campus during an emergency.

New to the terms? See the school safety mapping glossary for plain-language, sourced definitions, or the national FAQ for the questions districts ask most.

Sources

Every claim, cited

We do not ask you to take our word for any of this. Each numbered citation above links to its primary government source below, with the date we last verified it. Programs and deadlines change, so confirm current rules at the source. How we verify.

  1. Georgia Office of the Governor - signed text of HB 268 (2025), creating O.C.G.A. § 38-3-154 verified 2026-06-23
  2. COPS Office - School Violence Prevention Program (official program page) verified 2026-06-23
  3. U.S. Department of Education - Project SERV (official program page) verified 2026-06-23
Compare across state lines

Neighboring states

School safety mapping varies by state line. See where the states next door stand.

See how the rest of the South region compares on school safety mapping.

Free brief

The Georgia brief, on one page

A printable summary of Georgia’s mapping mandate, the grants that fund it, the buyer-side standard, and a district readiness checklist. Built to forward to your board.

  • → Mandate status and key deadlines
  • → State and federal grants that pay for it
  • → Readiness checklist, every claim cited

Get the Georgia brief

The Georgia mandate status, the grants that fund mapping, and the readiness checklist, in one short brief you can forward to your board. Enter your work email and it is yours.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. We never share your details.

Get your free Georgia grant & readiness review

A free 15-minute review of which Georgia mapping grants your district qualifies for and how a live digital twin would work for your campus.

  • → First responder pre-registration included
  • → One scan, one school day, zero disruption to classes
  • → Grant guidance for Georgia districts
Free Grant & Readiness Review
See which Georgia mapping grants your district qualifies for. 15 minutes, no commitment.

No commitment · Grant funding available for many districts