COOPER CITY, Fla. – On Monday, hundreds of students attending Broward County Public Schools will be having new teachers, subjects and classmates, but they will also notice some big changes when they walk through the doors. The first one is metal detectors.
There were long lines at high schools across the county as all 31 campuses rolled out the new technology for the first day of school.
Each and every day, students will need to pass through metal detectors. The district said the goal is to keep weapons out and keep students safe.
Students in Cooper City were excited to be back to class on Monday morning.
“It’s my senior year, just trying to chill out and have fun,” said Cole Page, a student.
Local 10′s Hannah Yechivi also spoke to teachers eagerly awaiting the arrival of students on the first day back.
“I became a teacher by default, but I love these kids. I love these kids, they love me back and it kind of fell in my lap, but I am going to be late,” said Mrs. Anderson.
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Howard Hepburn said for now only high schools will have the metal detectors at the entrances.
While parents said they appreciate the focus on safety, they thought the process needed to be more organized. Long lines were also seen at Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines.
“It’s horrible actually, because she’s going to be standing out in the sun for who knows how long. There are so many kids out,” said Leticia Albaladejo, a parent.
Hepburn said at the beginning, while students get adjusted, things might take a few extra minutes, but security personnel will help expedite the process.
“This isn’t new in the state of Florida,” said Hepburn. “We have other large school districts that have already done the same, and they had the same issues in the launch at the beginning of the school year.”
Issues of very long lines prompted the superintendent to shut the metal detectors off in some schools where students were still in line, in order for them to make it to class on time.
“We want students to be in their classroom the first day, there is a lot of key information to know about when it comes to safety and security, curriculum, instruction, so we told the schools to shut them off today to get kids in the building,” said Hepburn.
Hepburn said some high schools have two metal detectors while other schools have four.
“We are not sure what will happen tomorrow. I don’t expect a miracle tomorrow, it’s going to be a process that continues to improve every day,” said Hepburn.
There are non-dangerous items that can set off the metal detectors. Things like cellphones can trigger it and slow down the process. Besides electronics, three-ring binders, umbrellas and even hard eyeglass cases can also set them off, just to name a few.
The widespread rollout of these metal detectors comes after a successful pilot program that took place over the summer.
A meeting is set to take place with school officials to determine what other steps need to be taken to make the metal detector process easier for students and staff.
Another less popular change involves cellphones, requiring students to keep phones off or in airplane mode throughout the school day.