Elementary schools begin rolling out weapons detection systems across Duval County

DCPS is expanding weapons detection systems to elementary schools, with about 30 campuses expected to receive the technology each year.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Students at Duval County Public Schools elementary schools are adjusting to a new part of their daily routine: walking through weapons detection systems before entering school.

DCPS began installing CEIA OPENGATE weapons detection systems at elementary schools during the 2025-26 school year. The district plans to equip about 30 schools annually over the next three years, eventually expanding the technology to roughly 90 elementary schools. The systems are already in use at district middle and high schools.

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At John E. Ford K-8 School, the systems have been in place since the 2025-26 school year, with three detectors located at the main entrance and bus area.

DCPS School Police Chief Jackson Short said the systems are part of the district’s broader approach to school safety. Students are instructed to remove certain items from their backpacks to avoid unnecessary alerts.

“We use the acronym BLUE, so it’s binders, laptops, umbrellas, an eyeglass case,” Short said. “So what the students will do is that if they have any one of those items, they’ll pull them out of their backpack, set them on the table, and then go through the OpenGate device so that nothing triggers it unnecessarily.”

The walk-through systems are designed to detect potential threats, including firearms, knives and explosives, while allowing students to keep most of their belongings with them.

Short said the technology detected a firearm at one of the district’s high schools last year, but the primary goal is prevention.

“We do believe that these weapons detection technology is a great deterrent to students not bringing anything inappropriate to school to begin with,” Short said. “So, really, it’s all about prevention and preventing the weapon from even getting on campus to begin with.”

The detectors are one part of DCPS’s multilayered security plan, which also includes weapons detection canines, safe school officers, locked gates and doors, and the Fortify Florida reporting program.

“This technology is just part of our multilayered approach at safety and security,” Short said. “We do believe that our youngest students deserve the same level of protection and same level of security that all of our students receive to include the staff members.”

School police officers, security personnel and trained school staff will operate the equipment. If a detector alerts, students may undergo additional screening while the main entry line continues moving.

Short said the rollout will depend on each school’s size and readiness, with families notified by their principals.

“We’re hoping to do 30 a year for the next three years, but it really just depends on how fast the school is able to implement the technology, depending on the size,” Short said.

At John E. Ford, students said the process became less intimidating once they experienced it.

Student Madeline Herbin said she was initially nervous because she thought only certain students would have to go through the detectors.

“It was nerve racking, ’cause I thought, like, it was only certain students doing it, but then when I saw everyone else do it, I felt fine, and I didn’t feel scared at all,” Herbin said.

Mackenzie Peterson said the process was easier than expected.

“It’s actually pretty quick and easy, and it made me feel safer, like, walking through it,” Peterson said.

Short acknowledged that some parents may question the need for weapons detection at elementary schools, but said recent incidents underscore the importance of prevention.

“We had a couple of situations last year right here in Duval County, where elementary school students did bring real fires to school,” Short said. “You know, you saw what just happened in Oregon with the school shooting, and then, it’s just part of our society now, that we do have violence on school campus, so anything we can do to get ahead of that, prevent that, and help keep everybody safe, I think is worth it.”

For Short, success means preventing incidents before they happen.

“Success looks like we do not, we do not have any weapons incidents on campus, and all of our students are learning, and all of our teachers are teaching in a safe environment,” Short said.

DCPS expects to continue installing the systems over the next three years, with the goal of having weapons detection technology at every elementary school in the district.