Hamden BOE halts school metal detector policy revisions, cites concerns

The Hamden Board of Education pulled revising the proposed metal detector policies from the agenda at the weekly meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Metal detectors were installed in Hamden High School in December after online threats caused the school to close for three days. There were also several violent incidents around the school, such as fighting, a stabbing of a student and an arrest of a student who was found with a gun in his backpack. 

The decision was made between the mayor, superintendent and police chief, however, the metal detectors “were put in without the support or the vote of the Board of Ed.,” according to BOE Chairperson Melissa Kaplan.

The BOE’s policy committee voted on the drafted policies the prior week, however, Kaplan was unsatisfied with the thoroughness and felt there was a lot to be desired from the proposals. 

During the meeting, Kaplan announced the board would table discussions “in favor of a full board workshop” that will allow the BOE to “collaborate with students, faculty, and community members in crafting these documents.”

“I am very clear that I am against having metal detectors in our schools,” Kaplan said. “I know that we need regulations if they are there, and I understand the importance of regulating that, but the metal detectors were put in as a very reactionary measure to the uptick in violence and my  fear is that we are adding trauma on top of trauma with the metal detectors.”

Kaplan additionally pulled the approval of the search and seizure policy, due to her concerns about its outdated guidelines, as it was last updated in 2004.

“The language is very obtuse, and it’s not explicit in terms of, for example, what is considered reasonable,” Kaplan said. “We need to actually know what that is and what our students’ rights are in terms of consent. Consent of the student and also parental consent and family care consent.”

Kaplan prepared a list of 13 concerns in the guideline proposal and the key issues that were not addressed enough, or at all. Her concerns included the logistics of who is screening students, and how they are doing so, the pressure it puts on students with social or biological challenges, the militarization of the school and more.

Additionally, Kaplan explained there are inconsistencies in the current usage of metal detectors that create potential safety hazards. 

“Entrances are open during after-school events where students and families from Hamden and other districts are free to come and go as they please,” Kaplan said. “Theoretically, someone could store.. a gun, or an explosive device, or a knife, who could walk into those doors and put it in their locker and no one would have any idea.”

The proposal referenced the potential for spending more of the budget on metal detectors, but does not include anything about a plan to de-escalate the use of metal detectors, and eventually remove them from the school.

Kaplan counters the idea of spending more on security with the idea of investing in programs that can help reverse the trend over recent years of increased violence. 

“I believe that money is better spent in more sustainable, proactive measures to mitigate the use of metal detectors in the first place by investing in Wraparound services, enticing counselors and mental health professionals to join our staff,” Kaplan said. “This staff, and not metal detectors, our approach becomes more of an investment in social-emotional health, and not punitive measures.”

Kaplan also noted the uneven standards between students and faculty, as students are required to go through the metal detectors, meanwhile, teachers and staff members are not. 

“If you want students to undergo such humiliating practices, it is quite telling that our district does not force teachers and staff to enjoy this degrading exercise,” she said.

The revision of metal detector guidelines has been catch-up work for the Hamden school district, as, since their addition, there has been a lack of definitive rules. Despite that, there have been instances of positive change that have come with metal detectors. 

Despite Kaplan’s concerns, some HHS parents see the metal detectors as a viable strategy to improve the safety of the students.

Amy Terry, a mother of two HHS students, recalled the fear her family felt during the series of violent incidents. 

“For me, it’s a safety concern for sure,” she said. “My daughter was coming home nervous all the time because there was people coming to school with knives and guns, and all that, and even my son, at the middle school at the time, there was fights there every day.”

Within the high school, there are mixed opinions on how much of a difference metal detectors contribute to the safety of students.

“They have improved the safety.. it does help to make sure everyone in the building feels safer and more comfortable,” HHS first-year student Matt Mangini said. “They can be overwhelming, like if you get set off by it, but it makes me feel more comfortable that they are installed into our school.”

Madelyn Gaffney, a sophomore at HHS, is less convinced of the effectiveness of the metal detectors. “The only difference is that I am consistently late for class,” she said, and that the metal detectors help “a decent amount, but I don’t think it was necessarily needed.”

Barb Mongilo, a graduate of Hamden High School in 1985, and the mother of several children who has attended Hamden schools, explained that the current state of the school is nothing unfamiliar to the town’s history.

 “Hamden has always been the type of high school where it runs the gamut of excellent academics but then also dicey elements as well.”

“My daughter was coming home nervous all the time because there was people coming to school with knives and guns, and all that, and even my son, at the middle school at the time, there was fights there every day.”

Amy Terry, a mother of two HHS students said.

The upcoming workshop will provide students, parents and any member of the community that has an opinion the opportunity to come together to create the safest environment for the children. 

“We need to take back our school and not let the threat of violence or the fear of violence prevent our children from their right to a public education and the right to feel safe while receiving an education,” Kaplan said. “Many people have been making suggestions as to what is best for the Hamden Public School system to mitigate the uptick in violence … but before any decisions are made, we have to hear from the students and teachers. After all, this is their school; they must be central to the process of finding a more sustainable, humane, and compassionate solution.”