It's Official! Broward County School Board Votes To Approve Use Of Metal Detectors At County Schools

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The Broward County School Board voted Tuesday to approve hand-held metal detectors at county schools.

This means that students should prepare to face random searches with these detectors.

The metal detectors are part of the district's push to keep students and staff safe on campus.

The formal vote was held Tuesday, but the measure to use metal wands at every public school had been agreed upon last week.

Last week, Interim Superintendent Vickie Cartwright said, "This is an additional layer on top of what we are currently doing as we further the discussion."

Most board members were in favor of the measure, including Lori Alhadeff, who lost her daughter Alyssa during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre four years ago.

"At the end of the day, we need to prevent weapons, knives, guns from getting into our schools. And the random metal detection is one way we can go about doing that," said Alhadeff.

The vote launches a pilot program at some schools. A slow rollout and soon every school will have them. What they are discussing right now is guidance so no student is targeted at any location.