New Michigan laws will allow childcare centers to put additional security measures in place.
The laws allow facilities like day cares and nursery schools to install temporary locking systems for use in case of a lockdown or other emergency.
The systems need to meet a list of requirements in the laws, including that they can be unlocked and opened from outside the room with the use of a required tool or key, and that they don't modify fire exit hardware.
State Senator Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) co-sponsored the legislation. He said having locks capable of shutting down a building can save lives.
“It is not a mandate, but it is sadly a useful tool. As we know, we need to keep kids safe everywhere that they are from every age, high school on down to childcare. So, we are doing everything we can to meet their needs,” Moss said.
A 2020 law already gave schools the power to install similar locking measures under building safety codes. But, in practice, the meaning of “school building” in that law didn’t cover childcare centers.
The bipartisan bill package signed into law this month addresses that.
“The fire code and building code are clear about … obstructions into doorways, and so this was one of those things that we had to be clear in the law that there can be an automatic lock and [it] would be used in the event of an emergency,” Moss said.
The new laws take effect on March 24, 2026.
