Duval County Public Schools will begin installing metal detectors at 30 elementary schools in the 2026-27 school year as part of an effort to improve campus security, school officials said.
The Duval County School Board approved a $2 million contract June 2 to increase the district’s use of a system called CEIA OPENGATE, which was installed at middle schools during the 2025-26 year.
“The students and staff at our elementary schools deserve the same level of safety found at our secondary schools,” Duval County School Police Chief Jackson Short said in a release about the security change. “By adding weapons detection technology to our elementary schools, we remain true to one of our core values ― keeping students and staff safe.”
Short told reporters June 4 that three guns were recovered in district elementary schools over the prior school year, while none were found in middle schools.
The district hasn’t identified which schools will be outfitted with the screening equipment.
The new devices are designed to screen large numbers of students while letting them keep personal items with them, the release said.
The system works by having students walk, one at a time, past devices that can detect items including knives, guns and some types of explosives.
If a student triggers an alert, they’ll be told to step to the side for a closer check of possible sources, like lunchboxes, umbrellas and backpacks.
The system is designed to not alert to small, everyday metal items like coins, but can pick up on harmless items. Short said officials coined the acronym BLUE ― for binders, laptops, umbrellas and eyeglasses ― as a checklist of items to watch for that might unwittingly trigger false alarms. Different detectors are used in high schools.
Before the equipment is put into use in elementary schools, the district will circulate video explaining the system to help students’ families know what to expect.
School district employees handling the screening will get training before the equipment goes into use, the release said. The district plans to place the systems in phases throughout the year, according to material distributed to board members.
The installation is part of a project to gradually install weapon-spotting technology in all district schools, a process that will take about three years.
This story was updated with new information and to add a video.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Metal detectors being added at 30 Duval elementary schools in 2026-27
Reporting by Steve Patterson, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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By Steve Patterson, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
