Parents of Fresno Unified students will have a new way to stay updated with on-campus emergencies

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Parents in the Fresno Unified School District will soon be notified with a text message to their cell phone in the event an incident occurs on campus that will disrupt the school day or require an early dismissal.

"It's important as you see things happen across the nation that we do everything we can to ensure the safety of all of our students," said Interim Superintendent Bob Nelson.

In his first act as Interim Superintendent Bob Nelson announced the district will soon launch the new text message emergency system known as Rapid Alert.

Principals will have the ability to send out important information to parents from their school computer. The texts come in either English, Spanish, or Hmong.

"Because a text message only allows for a 160 characters, our messages will be brief but will provide details and any necessary instructions," said Nelson.

The district wants to encourage parents or guardians to make sure their contact information is up to date to ensure they receive the safety messages.

"It's a great idea. Anything to help get us the information sooner it will help us not to not be ignorant of the fact if an emergency arise, especially with these computers will call cell phones," said Bernard Hall, Fresno Unified parent.

The new text message alert system will go into effect February 8th.