JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County Public Schools students will be back in school Monday.
A few things changed while they were away.
High school students will be able to tell right away, as they'll be greeted by new weapons detectors, similar to what you'd see at Disney or a concert venue.
"They look for the shape of a weapon that may be on a child's person or in a backpack," said Duval County Public Schools Spokesperson Tracy Pierce. "Enable us to get students into the building very quickly while also scanning for weapons as they're coming in."
Teachers will get some technology upgrades too.
They'll have new buttons on the back of their IDs to press in an emergency to alert the principal.
If they keep pressing, it'll alert 9-1-1 and tell first responders exactly what part of the school the emergency is in.
"If a teacher is pressing that button from their room on the second floor in the Northwest corner of the building, first responders will be able to see exactly where that is coming from to be able to respond," said Pierce.
Students will get new ID cards this year.
"It's very similar to technology in a hotel room key, so students can swipe in and swipe out of different areas," said Pierce. They can swipe for lunch, etc."
The cards won't track students continuously, they'll just give faculty an idea of where a student last punched in should there be an emergency.
Pierce says one of the main reasons for the new cards is for a new bus app they plan to roll out over the course of the year.
"It's not a tracking device, but it will enable them to tap on, tap off the buses," said Pierce. "So we know they're safely on and parents can see where those buses are."
Speaking of buses, district leaders warn a bus driver shortage could make getting to school a slow process.
The district is short more than 130 drivers out of 800 positions.
"We are still in the midst of a significant national shortage of school bus drivers," said Pierce. "We're expecting long delays on some of our routes."
With such a significant shortage - Duval County Public Schools is asking three things of parents for the early days of school:
1) Drive students themselves or car pool if possible
2) If students are going to take the bus, be aware they could be at the bus stop for quite a while.
"Make sure that you're providing or someone you trust is providing supervision at the bus stop," said Pierce.
3) With the extreme heat, DCPS is reminding parents to send their kids with plenty of water for the wait.
Duval County Public Schools is asking for help filling some of those empty bus driver positions.
You can find information on applying here: Transportation / Bus Drivers Wanted (duvalschools.org).