Nash County Public Schools will soon implement new safety procedures at elementary schools.
In a note sent to parents Friday, the district said it will begin picking students at random to walk through metal detectors or get wanded once a week.
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Nash County Public School officials say the new method is another way of keeping its elementary schools weapon-free. It's a policy they say was successful at middle and high schools before implementing weapons detection machines instead.
The new procedures will start Monday, Sept. 9.
Students will be randomly selected for a weekly screening requiring them to walk through a metal detector or undergo screening with a wand.
Parent Quentin Pulley welcomes anything that keeps kids safer, but he has questions about how students will be picked.
"That's something they really have to figure out," Pulley said. "You don't want to feel like you are targeting one race or one set of people. At that point it does become discrimination. They really need to have a legit plan in place."
NCPS officials said they will ensure fairness by selecting 10 percent of the student population based on how they get to school, whether it's by bus, by car or by foot.
We asked Nash County Public School officials why they haven't implemented weapons detection systems like they currently have in place in their middle and high schools. They said they already are looking at a cost-efficient option.