Governor Cuomo announced the launch of a new school safety pilot program, Mutualink K-12, which will roll out in 20 public schools in Oneida and Rockland counties later this month. Mutualink K-12 is a new technology designed to improve communications and the sharing of information between participating schools and local first responders during an emergency. It will be implemented by the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Office of Interoperable and Emergency Communications in conjunction with each county’s sheriff’s office or emergency management office.

Mutualink K-12 is an IP-based multi-media communications solution for event-based incident management, enabling real-time information sharing, including voice, video, data and text, between schools and emergency responders. School radios, phones and mobile devices are connected to emergency dispatch systems to immediately alert responders and help them arrive on-scene faster, thus streamlining the emergency response process and eliminating time wasted during relaying telephone calls and message errors. Mutualink also provides a “panic button” feature which, when activated by the school, gives law enforcement instant access to the schools’ communications.

Rockland and Oneida counties will each have 10 schools participating in the pilot. The schools were selected by their respective counties.

For more information on Mutualink and the Mutualink K-12 platform, visit
https://www.mutualink.net/school-safety/