Safety measures are changing in Columbia-area schools. Here’s what to expect this year

As Midlands students prepare for classes in the coming weeks, some students can expect to see some new security measures on the first day of school.

In Richland and Lexington counties, schools are opting for more metal detectors and school resource officers to deter bad behavior and offer some peace of mind to those sending their children to school in a post-Columbine world.

All Richland 2 high schools will now have safety screening stations, including metal detectors, at their main entrances when schools open Aug. 8. The stations will operate all day, not just in the morning, and will impact all students and visitors as they enter and exit the schools. Last month, the Richland 2 board unanimously voted to update the district’s policy on the security measure.

The district is asking student drivers and car riders to arrive early to avoid being tardy to class because of wait times. Student will be asked to remove their computers, binders and any metal objects like water bottles out of their backpacks.

“There’s a lot of people that are very anxious about their children going to school these days, especially when you hear stories about shootings, and last year we had a student that was stabbed on campus,” said Richland 2 school board chairman Joe Trapp. In April, a student at Ridge View High School was stabbed multiple times by another student, according to a lawsuit.

Richland 2’s pop-up metal detector program, which had been piloted in the district, will continue its middle schools.

It’s been just over a year since Richland 1 implemented the first phase of its metal detector program. Now, the district will move to the next phase of the plan.

Metal detectors were first piloted in district schools last spring, following a review of the district’s security procedures.

In April 2022, R1 Superintendent Craig Witherspoon wrote to parents, notifying them that metal detectors would be installed at “various” middle and high schools following the district’s spring break in light of “some incidents” that had occurred on several school campuses. The district had been discussing the use of metal detectors several months prior to Witherspoon’s letter. The roll-out directly followed a situation at Lower Richland High School, in which a student was found with a stolen weapon that they had brought to school.

By the 2022-2023 school year, every Richland 1 high school had metal detectors. Now, the district is moving to have them in all middle schools as well.

“Our hope is to have them ready by the time school starts,” said district spokeswoman Ilyssa Weiner. Classes for Richland 1 begin Aug. 16.

Richland 1 school board chair Cheryl Harris said when the program is complete, metal detectors will have a presence in every district school, including elementary schools. Richland 1 is taking a phased approach because of the additional staffing that metal detectors require.

“We know we’re not going to have 100% free of issues schools, but we want to get as close to 100% as possible,” Harris said. “From what I’m hearing from parents, and even from students, they are appreciative.”

Harris said that teachers and students feel safer in their classrooms with metal detectors implemented.

“When they drop their children off, when their children catch the bus, we want (parents) to know that we are putting things in place to help ensure their peace of mind,” Harris said.

In January, The State put out a poll regarding the use of metal detectors in schools. Of the 80 participants, 79% were in support of the security measure and 21% were opposed. Schools in Richland County have more instances with firearms that almost anywhere else in South Carolina, according to data from the state’s 2021-22 school report card.

Meanwhile, in Lexington County, the sheriff’s office has announced that for the first time all schools in the county will have their own dedicated, full-time school resource officer.

“This is a landmark accomplishment that has taken a lot of work and cooperation from all the law enforcement agencies and the five school districts across Lexington County,” Sheriff Jay Koon said in a statement, crediting the move to recent increases in funding in the state budget for school resource officers. “Thanks to pay increases the previous two budget cycles, we’ve seen deputies step up to take on these important roles. The pay increases have also positioned us to hire deputies from the outside.”

When the new school year begins this week, five elementary schools will have school resource officers for the first time. Carolina Springs, Centerville, Pleasant Hill, Red Bank and White Knoll elementary schools will add resource officers to their campuses. Previously, all five had shared SROs with neighboring schools.

All five elementary schools are in Lexington 1, which returns to school Aug. 9.

In total, sheriff’s deputies act as resource officers in 35 Lexington County schools. Other schools are also served by municipal police departments in Batesburg-Leesville, Cayce, Gaston, Irmo, Lexington, Pelion, Pine Ridge, Springdale, South Congaree, Swansea and West Columbia. Lexington-Richland 5 schools in Richland County are also served by Richland County deputies.

Last year, some schools experienced a shortage of school resource officers at the beginning of the school year. Lexington-Richland 5 had to contract with a private security firm to police some of its Lexington County schools, and ended up calling in some Richland County deputies to cover schools in the other county. The school board also amended its policy to allow some school district security personnel to carry guns on campus.

As schools implement more and more security measures, will they make a difference?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that metal detectors are effective in screening out weapons in schools, but according to the WestEd Justice & Research Center, statistics don’t back it up. In many instances, students actually feel less safe when greeted by a metal detector, and more likely to perceive violence on campus. And research shows that the presence of school resource officers doesn’t necessarily reduce school violence or mass shootings, according to the Center for Public Integrity. School policing often disproportionately affects students of color and those with disabilities.

But Trapp said that if metal detectors keep even one weapon out of schools, they’ve accomplished their purpose.

“I don’t know that its the best thing we can do, but it does bring comfort to a lot of people,” Trapp said.