During a Tuesday visit to East Brook Middle School in Paramus, Gov. Phil Murphy announced a $6.5 million investment for a statewide school security initiative.

The effort, which is being funded by American Rescue Plan money, will collect and digitize school building blueprints to make them available to first responders.

Currently, New Jersey first responders have access to the Collaborative Response Graphics (CRG) for about half of the state’s 3,000 public and private schools. This initiative will allow the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) and the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) to map the remaining 1,500 schools.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our children and the educators who help our children achieve their full potential,” said Murphy. “In order to protect our children and educators, we must equip our first responders with the most up-to-date 21st-century technology so that they can respond to emergencies without unnecessary delay.”

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th District, said the technology will help law enforcement act quick and decisively in the event of an active shooter.

“It’s hard to think of a better use of these federal resources than to ensure we’re protecting our schools, educators, and children by giving our law enforcement the resources that they need to keep them safe,” said Gottheimer.

Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin noted that school building floor plans play an important role in how quickly and effectively law enforcement can respond to emergencies, such as an active shooter.

“By investing in digital blueprint mapping software for every K-12 school in New Jersey, both law enforcement and school administrators will have the information they need to act swiftly and with precision,” said Platkin.

“Preparation is fundamental to our mission and work,” said NJOHSP Director Laurie Doran. “Our agency stands ready to support this initiative knowing that building an effective resiliency plan requires all stakeholders to collaborate, to share information and to detect and respond to threats together in real time.”

The funding will allow NJOSHP and NJSP to contract with an outside vendor to assist with the mapping. Once those schematics are collected from every school, local law enforcement will conduct annual walkthroughs of each building to ensure the mapping data is accurate and up-to-date.

“The New Jersey State Police has more than 100 schools in State Police patrolled areas where we have a consistent uniformed presence to ensure the safety of students and staff,” said Col. Patrick Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “Ensuring that our children and school personnel are safe will always be an important part of our ongoing mission, and this new initiative will undoubtedly assist law enforcement during emergent times by affording first responders the resources to work quickly and more efficiently.”