$100M in Funding Available for Schools to Install Lockboxes and Accelerate Access to Law Enforcement During Emergencies
PHOENIX, AZ, June 30, 2025 — The Utah House Bill 0040 (H.B. 40) amendments, recently signed into law that took effect May 7, 2025, enact enhanced school safety measures, including requiring secure lockboxes to provide access to law enforcement during an emergency. The amended law allows schools to use the $100 million fund to purchase and install universal access key boxes. Specifically, the Utah law now requires key boxes that must:
- Comply with UL Standard 1037 (the industry standard for secure emergency key storage)
- Be accessible only to authorized emergency responders and contain master keys and access devices that allow full building access
- Be electronically monitored, weather- and vandal-resistant
- Be maintained and updated quarterly or within 24 hours of lock changes by the LEA (Local Education Agency)
The bill also mandates:
- Coordination with emergency responders for optimal box placement and protocol
- Inclusion of the key box system in emergency plans, training, and schematics
- State standards for installation, access, monitoring, and compliance verification
The new law ensures that Utah schools and law enforcement officers will not be hindered by the need to sort through multiple keys, manage a combination lock, search for a spare set of keys for the internal doors, wait for the facility key holder, or locate and utilize breaching equipment when seconds count.
"The Utah House Bill 40 amendments mark a significant and meaningful improvement in school safety for the state,” explains Chris Rovenstine, vice president of marketing and sales for Knox. “Eliminating the need for forced entry during school emergencies can save precious time for first responders, minimizing critical delays, property damage, and personal injuries, and helping resolve the incident as efficiently as possible."
Trusted by thousands of first responder agencies since 1975, Knox produces the KnoxBox, a proven, easy-to-implement, cost-effective secure solution to comply with the amended state law. The secure lockboxes store critical access items, such as interior and exterior master keys, access cards, and floor plans, which law enforcement can easily access, allowing for quick entry in emergency situations. The KnoxEntry System for Schools program helps facilities deploy KnoxBox key boxes, padlocks, electronic lock cores, and other safety and security products for daily use.
For schools that have already installed a KnoxBox for fire department use, it is most likely that
law enforcement will require its own box due to needing a strategic box location for optimal tactical response that is out of the line of sight of the shooter and a larger box to hold all the access items needed by law enforcement, such as master external and internal keys, access cards, and building floor plans. KnoxBoxes are easy to install and do not require power or batteries, allowing for strategic and flexible placement of the boxes.
The U.S. Department of Justice recommended secure lockboxes on schools for law enforcement in its February 2024 Critical Incident Review of the Response to the Robb Elementary School shooting, which took place May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, TX.
About Knox Company
Since 1975, the Knox Company has successfully developed innovative rapid access solutions for first responders and fire and life safety personnel with products that provide fast, safe, and secure entry into commercial, industrial, educational, and residential properties, while minimizing damage and maximizing safety. Today, more than 15,000 fire, EMS, and law enforcement agencies, as well as schools, universities, and corporations, depend on Knox products to gain access to over one million buildings/properties and to protect their most critical assets.
For more information, go to knoxbox.com/schoolentry-Utah.
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