What’s the deal with metal detectors in school?

If you read last week’s Notes from the Kitchen you may have seen that my son now has metal detectors at school. Scratch that, not detectors plural. Just one. They have a metal detector. 

If you read last week’s Notes from the Kitchen you may have seen that my son now has metal detectors at school. Scratch that, not detectors plural. Just one. They have a metal detector. 

At one entrance. The entrance that car riders (kids being dropped off by their parents) use. There is not [usually] a metal detector at the main entrance. Nor the entrance used by student drivers or bus riders. Seems odd to me. 

I can’t speak to the reasoning behind this because we still have not received any official communication about said metal detector. Also odd. Unless you know my district.

I have no idea if there are metal detectors at all the schools or just the high school. I don’t know if they are used for sporting events and theater productions or just during the school day. Nor do I know what happens if a kid tries to smuggle contraband into school.

If you missed this update, no worries. I mentioned it in passing as something I wasn’t yet ready to talk about. To be honest, I’m still not. My feelings on the metal detector are  . . . complicated. 

But recent events have forced me to think critically about these complicated issues.

A “funny” story about metal detectors

On Wednesday afternoon, the same day that four people were murdered at Apalachee High School in Georgia, my son got into the car shaking his head. “Funny story,” he said. I could tell by the look on his face that it was not funny.

“Alex (not his real name–my son’s friend and all around great kid) set the metal detector off this morning.”

“Oh no,” I said. “What happened?” 

I was waiting for this to occur and curious what the protocol was. 

“Nothing. Officer Tom (also not his real name) laughed and waved him through.”

I raised my eyebrows. 

He’s “good”

My son sighed. “Yeah, we were all laughing, because we knew it wasn’t anything bad. I mean it was Alex. And Alex said, ‘It’s probably my binder.’ Officer Tom nodded and said, ‘probably.’ Alex asked the officer if he should get it out, but Officer Tom shook his head and said, ‘No, I know you’re good.’”

On one hand, I am glad that our school resource office knows the students well enough to know that Alex is “good.” In my opinion, it’s that kind of knowledge, those relationships with the students, that keep our kids safe at school. 

Well, safer.

But that’s not really the point, is it?

It may have been Alex’s binder. Or his hole-punch. Or the fancy metal pen he was given for his birthday. But we’ll never know. Because no-one looked.

I guess it’s okay because Alex is a good kid. But who gets to decide that?

A breach of protocol . . . maybe?

On the other hand, this complete breach of protocol (because it has to be a breach of protocol, right?) is not just odd. But foolish. Risky. Dangerous. Infuriating, maybe.

Someone, presumably the board, but again no communication so I don’t know, decided we needed a metal detector at the high school. Most days that metal detector is stationed at the car rider entrance. On one occasion it was at the front entrance. Sometimes, but not always, it’s plugged in. 

Most of the time, the biggest hassle with the metal detector is the long line of kids waiting to be screened-think TSA security line to get into school every day. They’ve got to remove their Chromebooks, phones, binders, and anything else metal from their book bags before going through. (Incidentally, their Chromebooks all have zippered cases and no-one looks in these,so it would not be hard it would to avoid the metal detector if one were so inclined.)

Occasionally, someone sets it off. And based on the incident my son witnessed the other day, they may or may not be waved through anyway. 

This is troublesome on many levels. 

The lawyer in me can’t help but wonder how “good” a kid has to be to get waved through. Is there a list somewhere? Or is it up to the officer’s discretion? And how is that not discriminatory? We don’t have to think too hard to imagine which kids are being waved through and which kids are not.

Meanwhile, the mom in me worries about the inherent risk of ignoring the metal detector.

By all accounts, everyone knew the 14-year old shooter in Georgia was trouble–the FBI even interviewed him last year about online threats to shoot up school– but that is not always the case. How many times after a horrific event have we heard friends and neighbors say, “I had no idea . . .” or, “He seemed like such a nice guy.”

If we’re going to have metal detectors, shouldn’t we at least use them properly?

Environment shapes behavior

I’ve got to admit, I’m on the fence about the metal detector. At first, I was outraged that they were put in without any advance notice or communication to parents. That’s the way our district does everything. (Three more years, she mutters to herself under her breath. Just three more years.)

I’m a recovering lawyer and have spent my career in education. I taught juvenile justice for over a decade. I have always been opposed to metal detectors in schools. I am a firm believer that environment shapes behavior and I don’t think that making schools feel even more like prisons is an educationally sound policy. 

Everyone, regardless of background, has the right to respect, dignity, and to learn in a safe, welcoming space. Metal detectors don’t ensure safety. In fact, their presence suggests the opposite. Clearly, a school that needs a metal detector is not a safe place.

Passing through a metal detector every day also increases anxiety and fear in students. And, in some instances, leads to more invasive searches and confrontations with administrators and school police. Not exactly a good learning environment.

Furthermore, this daily search suggests that teachers and administrators don’t trust students. This can negatively affect learning outcomes. Learning is tough. It requires risk-taking and vulnerability. It’s hard to earn the respect of students when your actions signify that you don’t trust them.

If we treat kids like criminals, they are more likely to act like criminals. So I have for years been anti-metal detector.

Can metal detectors prevent the unthinkable?

However, life is not black and white. We live in an unpredictable world. The unthinkable can and does happen. Way more often than it should.

Every time I say goodbye to my son in the morning I note what he’s wearing and hope I get to see him again at the end of the day. Parents everywhere can relate to this omnipresent sense of dread that accompanies sending our kids out into the world, including school.

School violence is rare

Statistically speaking, school violence remains rare. I am well aware that my son is more likely to get hurt or killed in a motor vehicle accident than at school. Still, firearms are a leading cause of death for children in the U.S. 

The shooting in Georgia was the twenty-third school shooting this year (2024), and the first of the 24-25 school year (a school year that is only weeks or, in some districts, days old). Over the last 6 years 488 people have been killed or injured in school shootings. 

That number may not seem like a lot, but compared to the 213 people killed or injured in school-related shootings from 1987-1992 (when I was last in school) it is more than a 100% increase. The U.S. has the highest incidence of gun violence in schools of any nation. 

And it’s not just the risk of being killed or injured, but the trauma of witnessing this kind of violence firsthand. Over 382,000 U.S. students have experienced gun violence at school since 1999.

While most kids will [hopefully] never experience a shooting in school, the horrific nature of these events that play out on television and social media means the ever-present threat of violence is hanging over their heads. And many of them will experience at least one panic-inducing false alarm during their school years. It’s no wonder teens are struggling with mental health.

Furthermore, it goes without saying  . . . the fact that school shootings are rare is little consolation for the parents burying their children. 

Metal detectors are ubiquitous

In today’s world, metal detectors have become ubiquitous. The airport. The courthouse. Some movie theaters. Sporting events. Concerts. Museums. Amusement parks. There aren’t many places you can go these days without walking through a metal detector.

This makes me feel safer. I guess. (Although, the first thing I do at large events is scan for emergency exits.) And so, as an anxious parent, I was initially ambivalent about the metal detectors at school. If they could keep my son safer while he was there, was there really any harm?

But then I talked to him about it. And he is 100% opposed. 

Not because he wants to bring weapons or any other contraband to school. But because he resents being “treated like a criminal” every day. My son is open, honest, and direct. He tells you what he thinks and he doesn’t mince words. 

But he is a good kid. He doesn’t break the rules. He would never dream of hurting anyone (unless he were sticking up for someone defenseless.) He hates high school as it is and he just wants to go in, get through the day, and graduate. Being forced to submit to a search prior to beginning the school day is, to him, demeaning and disrespectful.

The problem with compulsory searches

He explained that he is not opposed to going through metal detectors at baseball games or Disney World. “There are a lot of people you don’t know there. Our teachers and staff and resource officers should know us. Our school is not that big.” He’s right. There are about 700 kids across five grades.  Also, he said, “If I don’t want to go through a metal detector, I can just stay home. I don’t have to go to a Pirates game. Or Cedar Point. No one’s forcing me to do those things.”

School, on the other hand, is compulsory. “I don’t have a choice. I have to go somewhere I don’t want to go every day and be demeaned to do it.” One can’t avoid the personal intrusion simply by opting out. Instead, students are forced to endure a search, even a relatively non-invasive one, every single school day.

The facts about metal detectors

After talking to my son, I decided I needed to do some more research. And what I learned was not reassuring.

As of 2016 (the most recent data I could find), less than 5% of schools used random metal detector screenings and less than 1% subjected students to daily metal detector searches. Presumably that number has gone up in the wake of recent shootings, but the vast majority of American students are not subject to metal detectors in school. This suggests that they are not a necessary tool to deter school violence.

Schools with more students of color are more likely to use metal detectors and other measures to lock down campus. Research shows that the number of Black and Latino students is the biggest factor influencing whether or not a school has metal detectors. This only serves to increase educational inequities among racial groups.

There are few studies or statistics demonstrating the effectiveness of metal detectors. Schools don’t have to issue reports about what kinds of contraband they find or how frequently they find it. In one study however, WestEd Justice and Prevention Research Center found that as of 2017 for every 23,000 students scanned, just one dangerous item was found. The research center also pointed out that school staff often lack the training to properly use metal detectors or sometimes they are not working properly. It is extremely expensive to properly install metal detectors that cannot be easily circumvented. 

In our school, it is simple to evade the metal detector (assuming it’s plugged in). All you have to do to avoid the detector is ride the bus. Or catch a ride with a friend. Or walk around to the front door. And any student determined to shoot up the school would think nothing of taking at the person manning the metal detector as the first victim. 

Most experts agree that the best defense against school violence, including shootings, is not metal detectors, but community. It’s important that students feel safe at school. That they feel heard, respected, valued. Every student needs at least one trusted adult who believes in them. 

Increasing opportunities for students to become involved and invested in their school community, building connections, and improving school culture are the best way to make schools safer. Of course that’s not an easy fix. 

The appearance of safety

Metal detectors, on the other hand, are an outward sign of security. They are an easy way to appease parents and the community. 

But the trouble is, often they don’t work. And when kids do set them off, there are no set consequences. Kids should never get in trouble just for triggering the machine. But if a student does set it off, shouldn’t someone at least try to identify why? Isn’t that common sense?

Oh wait, what’s that? 

Since 9/11, the U.S. has been more concerned with the appearance of safety than with actually doing anything to keep people safe. Common sense has left the building. 

And, sadly metal detectors in school–at least our school (although we are by no means unique because I’ve heard countless stories of unplugged metal detectors) are just another example of these misguided policies.

Look, clearly I don’t have all the answers. Bu I do know that if we are going to have a metal detector, it should be plugged in, every child should be subject to it, and the same rules should apply to everyone. 

We’ve got to do better. For our kids. For our future.

I’d love to know what you think. Did you have metal detectors in school? Do your kids? Are you in favor? Are they? What is the best way to reduce school violence while still maintaining an atmosphere of curiosity, growth, and learning?

Off we go!