James Jackson, who presented the district’s metal-detector rollout plan, said Southfield Public School District will begin implementation at Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology on Jan. 5 after demonstrations for staff and planned parent meetings.

Jackson said the initiative followed requests from parents and recommendations from the Southfield Police Department. He said the district has brought a MELD detector to staff meetings so employees can see and test the device and that parents will be shown a physical detector at an in-person parent meeting at the school’s media center on Nov. 20 at about 6 p.m.

Jackson said the rollout is grant-funded and that the district has been coordinating with SROs and the police department as subject‑matter experts. He described staffing plans to manage peak arrival times (the first 30 minutes of the day) and said detectors will remain at doors for late arrivals, parents and visitors. For students with wheelchairs, crutches, pacemakers or other medical devices, Jackson described a secondary procedure: those individuals will be screened with a hand wand to avoid risk.

Trustees asked about possible delays entering school and Jackson said the district had timed the screening process, expected a longer adjustment in week one and planned building-level adjustments (starting entry earlier, staggered operations) to limit tardiness. Superintendent Jennifer Green said policies and student code-of-conduct language must be revised and approved by the board before the detectors are installed.

The board did not vote to adopt detectors during the Nov. 11 meeting; Jackson said the district will continue parent and staff outreach and refine staffing and policy details ahead of January’s planned pilot.