At Sarasota County Schools, the safety of our students is of the utmost importance. To enhance the safety and security of our schools, we will begin installing OpenGate® Weapons Detection Systems.

These walk-through metal and weapons detection systems are designed to rapidly scan people for dangerous and prohibited items as they pass through the gate. The goal is to provide a quick, unobtrusive way to bring an additional layer of safety and security to our schools.

During the next school year, the OpenGate® Systems will be deployed at your school. As always, the safety of our students and staff is paramount, and the OpenGate® System helps ensure a safe and secure learning environment.

Students and visitors will walk through the gate as they enter the building. Any laptops— as well as the items listed below—will need to be removed from backpacks and passed to staff to avoid the OpenGate® system from alerting.

Staff will be on standby each day to greet students and visitors and to address any detected threats. Visitors are required to show identification to enter the school.

If the detector’s lights turn red, individuals will be asked to go through the detection system a second time.

If the red signal appears again, individuals will be escorted to a secondary screening location and their backpacks and personal items will be searched as part of a more thorough investigation.