Georgia is on the verge of becoming the first US state to mandate weapons detection systems in every public school, a move spurred by a 2024 school shooting that killed four people at Apalachee High School in Winder. The bill, sponsored by Republican House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, would require all students to pass through detection gates each day.
“That rifle would have never reached our hallways,” said Daria Lezczynska, a junior at Apalachee High School. “Lives would have been saved. Families would not be grieving. Students like me would not be carrying this trauma.” Efstration argued that students and educators deserve the same security measures already common in courthouses.
The new technology combines computer analysis with cameras or electromagnetic fields to detect knives and guns, and has spread rapidly through schools, arenas, and hospitals. However, there is little rigorous research proving that weapons detectors prevent school shootings. Critics also question the cost—up to $10,000 or more per system—and the burden on staff to man checkpoints and search bags, which can lead to complacency from false alarms.
A Senate committee passed an amended version of the bill on Monday, requiring final votes in both chambers before reaching Governor Brian Kemp. A US Department of Education survey from 2021-2022 found that only 2.4% of all schools and 6.2% of high schools required daily metal detector checks. Atlanta’s school district spent over $4 million to install new systems in middle and high schools in 2021, and police chief Ronald Applin reported that guns found on campus dropped from 32 the year before to four so far this year.
School Resource Officer Meredith Littles described the process as “non-intrusive,” but research engineer Nikita Ermolaev warned that false alarms can desensitise staff. “You have 100 alarms and the first 99 are false alarms… you’re naturally going to assume the 100th alarm is also benign,” he said. Georgia currently gives each school $50,000 annually for safety, and House budget writers have proposed an additional $50 million in grants to help districts cover costs.
