Why weren’t there metal detectors in place to prevent the shooting at a high school in Arlington?

In the aftermath of the Mansfield Timberview shooting, one of the biggest questions coming from the incident is how a student with a gun managed to get on the high school campus in Arlington.

While the school did have two resource officers on the campus prior to the shooting, Mansfield ISD did not have metal detectors at the campus Wednesday morning.

Donald Williams, an assistant superintendent at Mansfield ISD, said the entire situation — including the lack of metal detectors — will be assessed and evaluated. He added that about three and a half years ago, a district safety committee made up of students, staff and community members reviewed needs and the top recommendation was to add law enforcement to every campus, which is now in place.

“We’re going to assess and evaluate every aspect of what transpired and then make recommendations as far as how we’re going to to move forward,” he said.

It’s not a common practice for school districts around the Dallas/Fort Worth area to use metal detectors.

Even though the state ushered in several significant new laws in the wake of the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting that killed 10, Texas does not require school to use metal detectors or similar equipment such as metal-detecting wands on campuses.

While some lawmakers have pushed bills that would change the Texas Education Code to require the machines at public schools, those efforts haven’t gained much traction.

The biggest reasons against such policies are their overall cost and efficacy.

According to a report from the U.S. Department of Justice, a moderately priced metal detector that could be used in a school setting would cost between $4,000 to $5,000 per unit. With over 3,000 campuses in Texas, and with each school using multiple entrances to allow entry for students and staff, such a mandate could run as high as $50 million.

Staffing costs would likely be even higher. The report highlighted a security plan from New York City Schools, which used nine security officers at one campus over a two-hour span each morning, a staffing level that was only possible given that the campus staggered its start times for students over a 90-minute period.

Even so, the report noted, “to make any metal detection program effective, school access during the rest of the school day, during off hours, and during special activities needs to be tightly controlled. A motivated student can defeat a lax system.”

Craig Miller, a school safety consultant and former Dallas ISD chief of police, said that in his experience, metal detectors “are not as valuable as people believe.”

Miller — who ran DISD’s 200-plus member police force from 2011 to 2019 after a 30-year career in the Dallas Police Department — said several times throughout the school day, such as in band or athletics, there are “multiple doors in which students can gain entry.”

“Unless every open door has a detector, they lose their value,” he wrote. “Also, they are very labor intensive and require additional personnel.”

Gun violence at Texas K-12 campuses during the school day is also quite rare. A database from The Center for Homeland Defense & Security showed 104 reported incidents where a gun was brandished, was fired or hit school property during the school day in Texas schools dating back to 1970.

Several of the area’s largest school districts do use metal detectors on a sporadic basis — for example, screening fans at sporting events held in gyms or at on-campus stadiums — but few have universal screening during a typical school day.

Dallas ISD spokesperson Robyn Harris said Wednesday that detectors or wands were standard practice at all of its secondary schools.

In January 2020, an 18-year-old died after being shot during a fight at Dallas’ Ellis Davis Field House, resulting in the district — and many others around the area — changing their bag policies for extracurricular events.

Mansfield ISD implemented new clear-bag rules for football games starting this year, but had been in discussions on how best to change those policies for months leading up to the shooting, after athletic administrators attended a National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security summit in March 2019.