Nampa’s Skyview High School is piloting a new security device — an ID badge that allows school employees to send out alerts and call 911.

The system has not been tried in Idaho before, according to the the Nampa Police Department, which announced the pilot Thursday.

The badges are modeled after a system in use in mental health hospitals. The badges are expected to cost $20,000 to $30,000 per school. The Skyview pilot is being covered by a private donation; the donor was not identified.

Here’s the Nampa Police Department news release:

“Recent school violence issues have made school safety a major concern of school and law enforcement. Newly appointed Nampa Chief of Police Craig Kingsbury has made school safety a major priority of the Nampa Police Department. Chief Kingsbury challenged all police employees to find new and innovative ways to deal with the threats that face our schools.

“Nampa School Resource Officer Brad Ford and Skyview High School Counselor Mandy Petty took the challenge and found a program that is currently being used in mental health hospitals. The system is designed for staff to wear an ID badge that can be activated by the wearer to send an alert of a problem.

“This new system has been installed at Skyview High School and is designed that when the device is activated it will send out the location and the problem. This wearer can send out one of three messages, medical, needs assistance, and lockdown. The alert can then be sent directly to the office, 911 services, and other teachers.

“The cost of the system on average is $20,000 to $30,000 per school. The system that is currently installed in Skyview High School was paid for by a private donation. This system is the first of its kind in Idaho and is currently being tested. On Monday, May 13, 2013 the school will be testing the system with a school wide lockdown drill.”