Balto. Co. schools get hand-held metal detectors

They will only be used if student is 'suspicious'

"It is important that the school system uphold the limit on use of the hand-held devices only upon reasonable suspicion," Bebe Verdery, education reform director at the ACLU of Maryland, said in an email. "But we are concerned ... that having faith in, and putting money toward, metal detectors may lead schools to neglect focus on what we know works."

That includes "paying close attention to the students in the building so that every child has at least one adult who knows them and supports them, addressing bullying, and providing services to students having difficulty — whether academic, emotional, or with relationships," Verdery said.

At Perry Hall on Thursday, parent Michele Butler, whose son is 14, said she supports "anything to make the kids feel safe."

"More and more things are happening because a lot of kids these days are having trouble coping emotionally," she said. "It's really hard for the school officials and counselors to help every kid that's having trouble."

In Baltimore City public schools, administrators and police work together to do safety checks, spokeswoman Edie House Foster said. Several schools use hand-held and walk-through metal detectors daily, she said, and principals have the authority to conduct random checks.

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