By Tatianna Gomez-Lucero
As the years pass, schools have reinforced safety policies. According to DistrictAdministration.com, 92% of public schools have either a sworn law enforcement officer or school resource officer as of the 2022-23 school year.
But that is not enough. Metal detectors should be installed in Indiana high schools and middle schools to help students be safe and ease parents’ concerns about safety.
However, only 2% of public schools require daily metal detector checks on every student, and just 6% conduct random checks.
Metal detectors range from $250 to $2,000 apiece, but does it really cost much if it decides your child’s future? Any student can hide a weapon or drugs in their backpack and bring it out anytime. The only reasonable people to carry a weapon should be the officers and/or teachers.
In 2024 about 83 school shooting incidents occurred in the United States. The deadliest year was 2022 with 47 fatalities in schools, according to CNN.com.
Even if the metal detector searches are random, students will always post on their social media to warn other students. Those students then will hide or throw away their vapes, e-pens, etc.
According to DrugAbuseStatistics.org, about 2.08 million 12- to 17-year-old students report using drugs in the last month. AmericanAddictionCenter.org surveyed people in 2023 and noted that 48.5 million Americans 12 years or older battled a substance use disorder in the past year.
All the violence in schools affects students’ mental and physical health. According to ICJIA.Illinois.gov, students who experienced a school shooting may have increased feelings of fear, developed post-traumatic stress disorder, and/or have reduced academic achievement.
Some students could experience guilt because they survived and could have the potential increase in substance use or risk of suicide.
Schools could cooperate and install safety features to prevent this. This would also help parents and students feel secure and comfortable in the school environment.
Muncie Community Schools announced on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, that they would install metal detectors at Muncie Central High School. The city of Muncie funded the $65,000 system called OpenGate.
Starting Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, all Muncie Central students and visitors began walking through metal detectors as they entered the high school.
The portable metal detector pillars will also be used for random safety searches in Muncie middle schools and school sports events.
In March last year, Fort Wayne Community Schools added metal detectors to their high, middle, and elementary schools. This project, which cost more than $1 million, was approved.
Only the high and middle schools will use detectors to scan students entering, and only visitors will be scanned at the elementary schools.
Lawrence Township is the second district in Marion County, Ind., to improve its security last school year (2023-24). The district added metal detectors in its six middle and high schools.
Chalkbeat.org interviewed students at Lawrence North High School, many of whom said that the new metal detectors have made them feel safer.
Some may say metal detectors are expensive or won’t make a difference, but it could be a success if schools set up fundraisers for metal detectors or other safety equipment. This could be a major change for the following generations and schools across America.
Students who have diminished academic performance or don’t work well in a school setting may feel a prison-like feeling when going through a metal detector. However, students have the right to refuse to go through a metal detector.
If a student refuses to go through a metal detector, they would be pulled aside and searched by an administrator. If students refuse that search then a parent or guardian will be called and the student will be sent home.
Email your school head of security if you want to see this change occur in Delaware Community Schools.
NOTE: This column represents the personal opinion of freshman Tatianna Gomez-Lucero. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the Eagle’s Eye newspaper or Delta High School.
