Weapon screening detectors to go ‘live’ Friday at Wichita high school, others to follow
Wichita West High School is the first in the district to use weapon screening detectors as students enter the building for class.
Students demonstrated the new safety measure Thursday afternoon as they left the building, and the detectors will be used Friday morning.
The scanners will be placed at three entrances that are open at the start of the school day: the main entrance, the athletic entrance and a west entrance used by students who ride buses.
The detectors are to be set up at other high schools as well, but it is unclear when, said Terri Moses, director of safety and environmental services for Wichita schools.
The district originally planned to phase the detectors into one school to get set up and running and then go to another school, Moses said.
“We received enough systems [screening detectors] for this school at this time,” Moses said. “As we stated when we ordered them, we knew there would be some supply chain issues, so right now we only have enough for West High.”
“We just don’t know what a timeline is for receiving the other products,” Moses added.
The detectors will be controlled via a phone or tablet app that will be accessible to school administration and staff who will be trained how to use the software, Moses said.
Moses expects some delays on Friday morning that should be be ironed out as time passes.
“There’s no doubt about it. It’s a new process,” Moses said. “We know we’re going to go through a couple weeks of a learning process, but everybody we’ve talked to said after a couple weeks, people are pretty familiar with them.”
Students will walk single file without having to take their phone and keys out of their pocket or remove their backpacks or gym bags, Moses said.
The Opengate screening devices are designed to automatically scan backpacks and bags for “metal threats, including firearms,” according to a district email.
If the screening device detects and finds something, what happens next will be determined by school policy.
“If someone has something that is a violation of our policy [school policy], then they will be turned over to administration to handle it,” Moses said. “If it is a legal violation, in other words a weapon or firearm, then it will be turned over to law enforcement to handle it.”
Staff at several Wichita high schools found guns at East, Heights and North in the first two weeks of the academic school year, The Eagle has previously reported.
The Wichita school board approved spending $1.5 million in September for the screening devices made by CIEA USA, a company that distributes security screening equipment.
This story was originally published December 1, 2022 at 12:18 PM.
CORRECTION: This report has been updated to reflect that the school district was considering the screening devices before gun incidents at schools this fall.