The Norristown Area School District School Board voted 9-0 on April 27 to approve the implementation of metal detectors in all twelve schools in the district, starting in the 2026-2027 school year.

“We decided, unanimously, that we were not willing to continue to allow students and staff in our buildings to continue to be put at risk, by not implementing a simple process to prevent weapons from coming into our buildings,” said School Board President Jeremiah Lemke.

The schools will be getting metal detectors from Safeware Inc with $325,600 going towards services equipment and training, Metrasens Ultra Weapons Detection Systems, as listed in their contract for implementation in the 2026-2027 school year. The system is portable and looks similar to that of anti-shop lifting sensors in retail stores. 

¨If you don’t set it off, you walk past like nothing happened,” said Superintendent Christopher Dormer.  

The system uses magnetic field-based technology, which focuses on identifying steel and iron.  This will keep small objects like house keys and water bottles from setting off the alarm. The detectors will also detect other contraband like vapes.

“Many in the community will feel safer because of these detection systems. Some will try to paint this as a ‘militarization’  of our schools,” said Lemke. “The reality is that many suburban school districts have implemented these measures because they make students and staff safer.”

Only one school in Montgomery County has daily metal detectors, North Penn High School. Those metal detectors were implemented this school year as a safety response to a student bringing in a handgun. Norristown admin and school board alike deny the metal detectors are a response to any specific incident in the district this year or any years prior. 

According to an article published in the Emory Law Journal, metal detectors tend to be installed in schools with higher populations of color. 90.2% of Norristown students are people of color.

The racial demographics of North Penn School District are not similar to those of Norristown, but unlike North Penn, the metal detectors are to be installed in every school in the district, instead of being limited to just the high school.  

Not all in the community are supportive of this new safety equipment.

“My concern is that students will feel mistrusted, surveilled, violated and criminalized,” said Katie Wieser, a Norristown parent. “I am worried about the disruption to instruction time. This will surely delay entry to the school buildings each day.” 

Research has found that students report feeling less safe with metal detectors, because the presence of metal detectors could reinforce the presence of violence. 

The surrounding connotation of having metal detectors, especially at all twelve schools, also raises concerns around the reputation of the district.

¨I think having metal detectors in all the schools, but especially the high schools, will increase the negative stigma that the students and school culture is out of control,” said Carmina Taylor, a Norristown parent.  

The metal detectors will only need about two members of staff to operate. It’s unclear whether the district will hire additional security staff to go with it, but the district has recently hired a new Safety and Security Coordinator, Leo Thomas. 

Currently, there is no information on the specific timing of the implementation, but it is expected that the order will descend,  with the high schools receiving metal detectors first, and the kindergartens receiving metal detectors last.