New proposal requires weapons detection systems at all Georgia public schools

 This story was originally published by the Georgia Recorder.

Getting off the school bus or being dropped off in the morning could look different if a bill under consideration in the state Capitol passes into law.

House Bill 1023, sponsored by House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, a Mulberry Republican, would require weapons detection systems to be set up at every student point of entry at public schools. The bill is not meant to apply to doors that are locked and alarmed, emergency doors or doors not intended for student use.

“As a practicing attorney here in Georgia, I am used to entering a Georgia courthouse most days, where I pass through security which includes a weapons detection system,” Efstration said. “It’s my opinion that Georgia students deserve similar security when entering Georgia public schools, that includes a weapons detection system.”

Efstration spoke at a House education subcommittee meeting this week, and the bill is set to come before the full House Education Committee Thursday. If it passes there, it will have until April 2 to move through the House and Senate if it is to become state law this year.

Gwinnett County father of three Jeramie Cavallaro said he became an advocate for weapon detectors in schools after the deadly 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder.

“This is the closest we’ve lived to a school shooting and Apalachee is about 15 miles from our house, and it really touched us as parents, discussing that tragedy and its wake,” Cavallaro said.

Gwinnett County School District, Georgia’s largest district, is rolling out a plan to install weapons detection systems staffed by school safety officers at all of its middle and high schools. The systems are provided by Massachusetts-based Evolv Technologies. According to its website, Evolv’s products use advanced sensors and artificial intelligence to help distinguish weapons from everyday objects like keys and cell phones.

Cavallaro said he wants to see weapon detecting technology in all of Georgia’s schools.

“As parents, we’re mandated to take our children to school or be held accountable,” he said. “Also as parents, I mandate that the school commits to bringing my children back alive each and every day. And if that was in place in every school, I would be able to relax as a parent and know that that threat has now been mitigated.”

The bill does not provide money to pay for the devices. Efstration said local school systems could pay for them through state-funded school safety grants.

School safety funding has been a priority for lawmakers in previous legislative sessions, especially in the wake of the Apalachee attack. Last year’s budget included more than $47,000 per school in recurring funding for safety efforts in addition to extra one-time funding.

“It’s been about $50,000 per year per Georgia school, and I expect that is going to be sufficient funding with the money that’s been appropriated and grants that will be available in the future for that to continue,” Efstration said.

Rep. David Wilkerson, a Democrat from Powder Springs, questioned whether the costs will add up for districts.

“School safety is important, it’s important to both parties, it’s important to all Georgians,” he said. “And the key is that we have to have a solution that actually is funded, that’s reasonable, that makes sense based on the state.”

“The grants that we give would only be used for the hardware,” he added. “When you go to an athletic event, you walk through a detection system, it’s a great detection system, but you also see multiple people standing there to screen you when you have a purse, you have a bag, et cetera. This does not contemplate that. It just says, we’ll pay for the hardware, potentially, but we’re not going to pay for what it takes to actually find out what happens when it goes off.”

Wilkerson said schools likely already have plans to use their allocated safety grants and questioned whether the plan would be feasible for districts like Cobb County, which he represents, where some high schools look more like sprawling college campuses than little red schoolhouses.

Gretchen Walton, Cobb County Schools assistant superintendent with the compliance and legislative affairs office, told lawmakers one campus in the district has 22 buildings with 49 entrances.

“And so when you talk about not wanting to have any kind of unfunded mandate, that is a huge consideration,” she said. “We have 17 high schools, so they’re not all sweet little elementary schools with one entrance or (entrances) in the front and back. Another consideration, clearly, is bus riders. At the beginning of the school day, a large portion of students come in through a different entrance. They do not come in at the main entrance. So we have a lot of operational concerns.”

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.