SCASD unveils new plans for school security, metal detector use. What’s changed?
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- SCASD will implement new student IDs and entry procedures for the 2025-26 school year.
- The district will conduct random searches throughout its middle and high schools.
- The new plans come after police thwarted an alleged mass shooting plot at State High.
The State College Area School District will roll out new security and safety protocols for the 2025-26 academic year, including random searches and updated entry procedures.
Once classes begin Aug. 26, the district will require all students between the sixth and 12th grades to wear new school IDs while on school property, and most will need to scan those badges before entering buildings. State College’s district will also conduct random searches at its middle and high schools throughout the year, according to a letter sent to district families Tuesday.
The district’s revamped safety and security policies come just a few months after a Mifflin County man was arrested and accused of planning a mass shooting at State College Area High School.
“As always, safety and security is our top priority, and we believe these measures will enhance the security of our entire school community,” Superintendent Curtis Johnson wrote. “Thank you for your support and cooperate as we implement these new protocols.”
State College’s district will provide new IDs and break-away lanyards to students on the first day of school, according to the new protocols. Students are welcome to wear their own lanyards — or other options for visibly displaying IDs — as long as they meet the district’s attire standards.
The district’s new ID badges will feature students’ preferred names alongside a photo and QR code that State High, Delta Middle and Delta High students will need to scan when entering school buildings. Students at the Park Forest and Mount Nittany middle schools will not need to scan badges when entering their buildings, but the district said it will conduct random searches at entrances or in homerooms.
Old ID badges, screenshots or digital PowerSchool IDs will not be accepted under the district’s new entry procedures, according to the plans.
“The IDs will enable us to visually and digitally identify all currently enrolled students immediately, and quickly scan the QR code to retrieve the student number, which provides the district with access to student information that is crucial in the event of an emergency,” Johnson wrote in a statement.
The State College district’s new plans for random searches will resemble those conducted at all secondary buildings last spring, which required students to walk through metal detectors or have their bags searched.
“These new measures, which align with the Pennsylvania Department of Education guidelines, will be a strong addition to our regular K-12 practices of taking attendance on a daily basis as well as conducting evacuation, stay-put/lockdown, and severe weather drills,” Johnson wrote.
Policies updated after thwarted safety threat
In an email Tuesday, Johnson said the State College district’s new safety and security policies largely stem from its review of protocols following the thwarted safety threat at State High. The updated policies were developed alongside recommendations from law enforcement and feedback from the community, the superintendent said.
At its July 21 meeting, State College’s school board approved new policies outlining how and when the district could authorize the use of metal detectors and searches of student belongings, lockers, vehicles and more. Notably, the policy says students and their belongings may be searched without a warrant while in school, on school grounds or under school supervision if there’s reasonable suspicion.
The newly approved policies — “Policy 226 Searches” and “Policy 709.1 Use of Metal Detectors” — are publicly available on the school board’s documents site.
At its April 21 meeting, the district’s school board approved the $54,348 purchase of three portable metal detectors that would “add an additional layer of physical safety and security on an as-needed basis,” according to a district memo. The new metal detectors are identical to the two the district already owned and would help it conduct searches at building entrances without needing to borrow devices from Penn State, as the district did in April.
The district’s school board later approved the $1,840 purchase of five new metal detector wands at its May 5 meeting.
State College’s district began enforcing heightened security measures following the April 11 arrest of a man who allegedly planned to execute a school shooting at State High on April 21. Students were required to walk through metal detectors and pass other security screenings before entering schools, which produced some delays but no significant issues.
The district ended its stricter security requirements in late April, prompting some community members to urge administrators to keep those protocols in place.
Braeden Phillips, the Mifflin County man accused of planning a mass shooting at State High, faces felony charges of conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and terroristic threats. In late April, Centre County Judge Julia Rater rejected a request to have two of the charges dismissed.
Phillips is not scheduled to appear in court again until Sept. 19.
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 3:27 PM.
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