The Utah School Security Task Force voted to approve three funding and procurement actions aimed at accelerating school safety measures statewide and directed follow-up reporting to the grant subcommittee.

The task force approved using $1.5 million from above-the-line grant funds to match previously allocated state board funding and finish development of the school safety dashboard; authorized procurement of bleed kits and first-aid kits for public schools using funds from the general grants appropriation; and authorized procurement and standards review for physical panic-alert devices required under this past session’s Alyssa’s Law provisions.

The dashboard motion came after staff described the board’s earlier $1.5 million discretionary allocation and a failed federal grant attempt. Micah Wicksen, Legislative Research and General Counsel, said the board had moved $1,500,000 toward the dashboard and the task force’s matching funds would let the project be completed. Representative Brad Wilcox placed the dashboard motion; the task force approved it by voice vote.

Senator Milner moved that funds from the general grants appropriation be used to supply first-aid and bleed kits to public schools and requested that the State Board of Education and the state security chief begin procurement. Chief Huntington asked whether training should be included; the task force agreed the initial motion would fund the equipment and asked staff to report back on training needs and cost models. The motion was approved by voice vote.

Representative Wilcox then moved that the task force use grant funds to supply physical panic-alert devices, directing the state board and state security chief to begin procurement and to set implementation standards and appropriate application limits. Wilcox referenced problems other states experienced with multiple contractors and overloaded PSAPs and asked the state security chief to narrow procurement and standards to avoid replication of those failures. The motion passed by voice vote.

The task force also approved the minutes of its Dec. 19 meeting by voice vote earlier in the session.

Votes at a glance: 1) School safety dashboard completion: Motion to allocate $1.5 million (matching the state board allocation) from the task force’s general grants appropriation to the Utah State Board of Education — outcome: approved (voice vote). 2) Bleed/first-aid kits procurement: Motion to use general grants funds to supply kits to public schools and direct the state board and state security chief to start procurement — outcome: approved (voice vote); task force requested report-back on training and cost-sharing/reimbursement options. 3) Panic-alert devices procurement and standards: Motion to use general grants funds to supply physical panic-alert devices and direct procurement/standards work by the state board and state security chief — outcome: approved (voice vote).

The measures were presented as responses to gaps documented in the school safety needs assessments and intended as near-term “low-hanging fruit” actions, while larger policy and technical issues (cybersecurity standards, dashboard scope, training costs) will be addressed in subsequent meetings and subcommittee work.

The task force did not record individual roll-call tallies in the transcript; each motion was adopted by a voice “aye” with no recorded oppositions.