Cedar Hill ISD Purchases Silent Alarm

The Cedar Hill Independent School District has purchased a silent alarm to be used in the event of an emergency situation where authorities would need to be contacted immediately and discreetly.

The State of Texas required all public school districts to have some type of silent alarm, and they made the funds available through a safety and security grant.

The silent alarm will be tied to public address systems, message boards and alerts.

Teachers and administrators will receive training through an app.

There will be some situations where the alert will be sent out internally, and others, where it will go directly toward the Southwest Regional Dispatch in DeSoto (for major incidents).

CHISD Police Chief James Hawthorne expects the silent alarm to be ready for the 2023-2024 school year. Hawthorne and CHISD-PD are currently working with the CHISD Technology Department to ensure that the silent alarm is up to speed.

Hawthorne said the district has received a 100 percent rating on its state-required intruder audits.