MDE announces 135 school districts have chosen to receive new health, school safety platform at no cost
JACKSON, Miss. – A new health and school safety platform will be available at no cost to 135 Mississippi school districts that recently opted to receive the service to create a safer and better learning environment for students, teachers and staff.
In February, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) announced plans to use $14 million of its American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III funds to purchase the web-based nSide health and school safety platform. ESSER III funds will cover the costs of the platform and cameras until Sept. 30, 2024.
School districts had to opt in by Feb. 28 to receive nSide. To see a complete list of the districts go to List of Districts with Health and Safety Platform.
The platform boasts several features to aid districts, including the following:
- One surveillance camera for the district central office and up to five school-based surveillance cameras with the ability to detect and notify of crowd congestion
- Access to a 360-degree live, virtual walkthrough of a school to provide situational awareness in emergencies
- A system to create detailed campus maps and building floor plans with georeferenced images that give first responders precise locations of individuals
- A portal to upload emergency operation plans
- Mobile app for notification of emergencies and to notify staff and emergency responders
- Assistance with creating and managing emergency operations plans that meet state and federal requirements