The lines outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School looked more like those at TSA airport checkpoints Monday as newly installed metal detectors caused delays and late student arrivals on the first day of school.
The machines are being used to screen Broward County Public School students for the first time in an effort to prevent violence like the 2018 mass shooting that killed 17 students and teachers at MSD.
Monday’s rocky rollout caused administrators to delay the opening bell and students to arrive late at multiple schools, where classes were scheduled to begin at or around 7:40 a.m.
One MSD parent, writing on a Facebook forum for Parkland residents, said MSD officials did not open their doors to students until 7:10 a.m., the same time as in previous years.
Lines to pass through the metal detectors quickly lengthened as students were forced to remove laptops, tablets, umbrellas, three-ring binders, metal thermoses, and large eyeglass cases from their backpacks.
“They need to open those doors at 6:30 a.m.,” the frustrated parent wrote. “My kids are still in line waiting to get into school. It’s 7:55 a.m. Waiting since 7 a.m.”
“Finally, in school at 8:23 a.m. School started at 7:40 a.m.,” another MSD parent wrote. “Hopefully it gets better.”
BCPS spokesperson John Sullivan apologized for the metal detector issues in an X post Monday morning.
“We apologize to @browardschools high school students and families for the long lines and wait times at the metal detectors this morning,” Sullivan wrote. “We sincerely thank our students for their patience. Please remember to avoid bringing metal items or remove them from your bag as you approach the detectors to speed up the process. We are committed to improving this experience and will be making necessary adjustments.”
The delays are happening on the same day BCPS implements a new cellphone ban for students.
A number of parents have been critical of the phone ban—which they say leaves kids unable to contact their parents in an emergency—and the time it took BCPS to install metal detectors.
“This is six years too late,” one commenter wrote, referring to the 2018 mass shooting. “It took all those children’s and teacher’s lives to get this.”
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