The Clark County Superintendent, Dr. Jesus F. Jara, announced a new weapons search program that will be conducted in middle and high schools throughout the school district. After 11 weapons were found just this year, many thought the large increase in weapons confiscated meant more security had to be implemented. However, many students are worried about possible privacy issues associated with this new program.

So, what do you need to know about these searches?

There are two types of searches: Random Arrival Searches and Random Classroom Searches. Random Arrival Searches mean that a randomly selected school will be given a number.  Each number of student at a given entrance will have their belongings searched to ensure that there are no weapons (for example, if the number assigned is 4, every fourth student will be searched). The students and their belongings will also go through a metal detector. If no rule-violating items are found on the student, they will give their student number to the administrator for documentation.

Random Classroom Searches are another type of school search. The administrators will enter a classroom, explain the purpose of the search, and then search all the kids in the randomly selected classroom. Once every student is checked and documented, they can reenter the classroom.

“As a father who sent my children through public school, I know that nothing is more important than the safety of our students and staff in the Clark County School District,” says the superintendent. “This random search program is just one strategy we are employing to improve school safety.”

If you have more questions about procedures, you can view the Clark County School district “Weapons Search Program” on the CCSD Newsroom site.