School mapping requirements & grants in Alabama

Yes. Alabama's 2024 School Security Act (SB98) created a statewide School Mapping Data Program inside ALEA, requiring walk-through-verified digital floor plans of every public school, overlaid on aerial imagery and made interoperable with first-responder software at no cost to schools.

Alabama's 2024 School Security Act (SB98) created a statewide School Mapping Data Program inside ALEA that requires accurate, walk-through-verified digital floor plans of every public school (with rooms, doors, utilities, AEDs, trauma kits, grounds and x/y grid) overlaid on aerial imagery, made interoperable with first-responder and school security software at no cost to schools or agencies.^[1]

Why do Alabama schools need responder-ready maps now?

Alabama already decided this matters: with 1,524 public schools across 156 districts and the state's January 2026 mapping contracts already funded, the only open question is whether your campus is captured as a flat file or a live 3D twin a responder can move through. SB98 makes the data free to schools, so the cost of leading is essentially zero, and when seconds decide outcomes, an officer arriving at an unfamiliar building should not be reading a 2D plan.

What does Alabama law require?

What schools must provide: Establishes a School Mapping Data Program within the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), which collaborates with local boards of education to produce accurate digital mapping data for every public K-12 school (subject to appropriation). Section 4(b)(1) requires the data to include accurate floor plans of each school overlaid on current, verified aerial imagery of the campus and to: (a) be oriented true north; (b) be verified by a walk-through of school buildings and grounds; (c) contain site-specific labeling matching the building structure, including room labels, hallway names, external door/stairwell numbers, and locations of hazards, critical utility locations, key boxes, automated external defibrillators (AEDs), and trauma kits; (d) contain site-specific labeling of school grounds, including parking areas, athletic fields, surrounding roads, and neighboring properties; and (e) be overlaid with gridded x and y coordinates. Data must be compatible with the software platforms used by local, county, state, and federal public-safety agencies that serve the school, and compatible with the school's own security software platform (Section 4(d)(1)). It must be available in printable format and, on request, in a digital format integratable into interactive mobile platforms (Section 4(d)(2)). Mapping data is provided to each local board of education, local law enforcement agency, and public-safety agency for emergency response (Section 4(c)). Section 4(e) bars requiring any entity (law enforcement, local board, or public-safety agency) to purchase additional software or pay a fee to view or access the data.^[1]

What does the statute specify, clause by clause?

Alabama publishes its mapping specification in Section 4 of SB98 (2024): the program itself in Section 4(a), the five content requirements in Section 4(b)(1)a-e, distribution in Section 4(c), interoperability and format in Section 4(d), and the no-fee rule in Section 4(e). Each line below is a separate statutory subdivision, cited so you can check it against the source yourself. This is the list to hold any proposal against, ours included.^[1]

1. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(a)
   A School Mapping Data Program is established within the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) to provide accurate maps of each school in the state for use in an emergency, with ALEA adopting rules to implement and administer it.
2. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(b)(1)
   ALEA collaborates with local boards of education to produce accurate mapping data for each school in the state, subject to appropriation. The data must include accurate floor plans of each school overlaid on current, verified aerial imagery of the campus, and must meet the five requirements below.
3. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(b)(1)a
   Be oriented true north.
4. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(b)(1)b
   Be verified by the entity producing the data for accuracy by a walk-through of school buildings and grounds.
5. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(b)(1)c
   Contain site-specific labeling that matches the structure of school buildings, including room labels, hallway names, external door and stairwell numbers, and the locations of hazards, critical utility locations, key boxes, automated external defibrillators, and trauma kits.
6. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(b)(1)d
   Contain site-specific labeling that matches the school grounds, including parking areas, athletic fields, surrounding roads, and neighboring properties.
7. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(b)(1)e
   Be overlaid with gridded x and y coordinates.
8. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(b)(2)
   Updates are completed as ALEA deems necessary, in consultation with the State Board of Education and the applicable local board, and any update must be accessible within the software platforms used by the local, county, state, and federal public-safety agencies that serve the school.
9. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(c)
   School mapping data is provided to each local board of education, local law enforcement agency, and public safety agency for use in responding to emergencies.
10. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(d)(1)
    The data must be compatible with the software platforms used by the local, county, state, and federal public safety agencies that serve the school, and compatible with the security software platform in use by that public K-12 school.
11. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(d)(2)
    The data must be available in a printable format and, on request by a public safety agency, local law enforcement agency, or local board of education, in a digital format that can be integrated into interactive mobile platforms in use.
12. Ala. SB98 (2024) Sec. 4(e)
    No entity, including a law enforcement agency, local board of education, or public safety agency, may be required to purchase additional software or pay a fee to view or access school mapping data through the program.

A single LiDAR and drone capture produces one dataset that serves both the printable, labeled 2D map this specification describes and a live 3D digital twin of the same campus, so a district is not buying the compliance artifact and the operational tool twice. See the buyer-side questions to ask any provider.

What grants help Alabama schools pay for mapping?

Alabama districts often combine state and federal programs to fund first-responder mapping, AI threat detection, and emergency communications. We list only currently open or recurring programs; amounts and deadlines change, so confirm each at its official source before applying.

Alabama state programs

Federal programs (available nationwide)

See full details on each federal funding program, including eligibility, deadlines, and how each can apply to responder-ready mapping.

How do Alabama schools go from paper plans to a map responders can actually use?

The state already funds the mapping itself: SB98 bars charging any district or agency a fee to access the data, and ALEA approved production contracts in January 2026. A single-day LiDAR and drone scan delivers a live 3D digital twin that meets the true-north, gridded, fully-labeled standard the statute demands. Static PDFs go stale the moment a building changes, and they cannot be shared live with arriving units.

Ark Strategic builds a live 3D digital twin of a campus from a LiDAR and drone scan, often completed in a single day though larger campuses can take longer, with every room, exit, utility shutoff, AED, and access point labeled. Responders reach it two ways, neither of which requires anything new to install: through RapidSOS, the platform already connected to the vast majority of US 911 centers, or in any web browser, since the twin runs in the cloud. Either way, your 911 center and on-scene units see the campus inside tools they already have.

A flat floor plan tells responders where the walls are. A digital twin shows them where to go. The platform and setup are bundled into one deployment, often grant-funded, so there is no separate software line item for the district. See how the K-12 platform works.

What else do Alabama districts ask about school mapping?

New to the terms? See the school safety mapping glossary for plain-language, sourced definitions, or the national FAQ for the questions districts ask most.

Where does every claim on this page come from?

We do not ask you to take our word for any of this. Each numbered citation above links to its primary government source below, with the date we last verified it. Programs and deadlines change, so confirm current rules at the source. How we verify.

1. Alabama Legislature (ALISON) - SB98 Enrolled (2024 Regular Session) verified 2026-06-23
2. Alabama Reporter - 'Alabama approves $6.48 million in school safety mapping, software contracts' (Jan 9, 2026) verified 2026-06-23
3. COPS Office - School Violence Prevention Program (official program page) verified 2026-09-01
4. Bureau of Justice Assistance - Available Funding (current open opportunities listing) verified 2026-09-01
5. U.S. Department of Education - Project SERV (official program page) verified 2026-09-01

See how the rest of the South region compares on school safety mapping.