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S 1782

Relates to dementia care and establishes a dementia care coordinator in the state office for the aging to manage the work of dementia care navigators

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Michelle Hinchey and 1 co-sponsor

Establishes a statewide grant program to create standardized, verified school mapping data for MA K–12, to improve emergency response by public safety agencies.

REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
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Bill Summary · S 1782

Summary — S.1782 (Sen. John C. Velis)

Title as drafted: An Act establishing the Massachusetts school safety data grant program (Senate Docket No. 1480)

Purpose

Establish a statewide grant program to produce standardized, verified school mapping data for every public and private primary and secondary school in Massachusetts. The maps are intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency response by law enforcement and other public safety agencies.

Key provisions

  • Establishes the “Massachusetts School Safety Data Grant Program” within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (the Office), subject to appropriation.
  • Grants may be awarded to municipal, county, regional, or state law enforcement agencies to develop standardized, verified school mapping data for schools within their jurisdiction.
  • Defines “school mapping data” to include detailed floor plans, aerial imagery, room/area labels, emergency resources, and site-specific features.
  • Mapping data requirements:
    • Integrate with software platforms used by municipal, state, and federal public safety agencies and with school safety/emergency software — without requiring purchase of additional software or access fees.
    • Be printable; oriented to true north; include an x/y grid and z-axis (elevation) data for each floor.
    • Be overlaid on current verified aerial imagery.
    • Include site-specific labels for rooms, hallways, doors, stairwells, hazards, critical utility controls, key boxes, AEDs, trauma kits, parking areas, athletic fields, surrounding roads, and neighboring properties.
    • Be verified for accuracy by an on-site walkthrough by the producing entity.
    • Be provided to the school district and appropriate public safety agencies at no cost beyond initial production and be made permanently available.
  • The Office must promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement and ensure compliance with the program.

Who is affected

  • Schools: all public and private K–12 institutions in Massachusetts, including charter, vocational, and special education schools.
  • Law enforcement and public safety agencies: municipal, county, regional, state, and federal responders who would use the mapping data in emergencies.
  • School districts and school administrators: recipients of maps and participants in verification.
  • Vendors/consultants that produce GIS/floor-plan products may be engaged to create compliant data.

Implementation, funding, and timeline

  • Program is subject to appropriation; no specific funding level or statutory deadlines are specified in the text.
  • The Office must adopt regulations to implement the program; on‑site verification is required for map accuracy.
  • Ongoing updates are implied (data must integrate with future software updates), but the bill does not mandate a schedule for updates or maintenance funding.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Expected benefits: faster, more coordinated emergency responses; standardized data across jurisdictions; improved situational awareness for responders.
  • Costs: mapping production costs are expected to be covered initially by grants, but long‑term maintenance and updates may require additional appropriations or local resources.
  • Security/privacy and access control: the bill requires broad sharing with public safety agencies and schools; implementing agencies will need robust protocols to protect sensitive building-security information while ensuring responder access.
  • Technical interoperability: the requirement that data integrate without additional purchase may pose technical and procurement challenges for agencies and vendors.

Legislative status & sponsor

  • Filed as Senate Docket No. 1480 (filed/presented by Sen. John C. Velis). Recorded legislative actions indicate the bill was introduced in the Senate and has been reported and committed to Finance. (Text filed 1/16/2025; related committee referrals and hearings are reflected in the legislative record.)

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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