The morning of Aug. 13, weapons detections system, Evolv, malfunctioned causing administration to allow students through the front doors without checking their bags. Evolv malfunctions continue to regularly occur during morning arrival for the 2025-26 school year, creating long lines, student tardies and frustration for students and staff.

“On the first day, we tested out a new floor plan changing the traffic pattern. [The new floor plan] required an extension cord, however, where kids were walking, it accidentally came unplugged,” Ms. Stephanie Monajami, academic associate principal, said. “I mean, it’s not ideal, but we didn’t also want everybody standing out on the front porch in the rain.” 

Though the administration restored the previous set up for Evolv, issues continue to appear throughout the year. 

“I would say Evolv impacts my day-to-day life because I take out all of my stuff and [Evolv] still goes off,” junior Avrie Melby said. “I don’t know what they want me to do. It’s so frustrating.”

When passing through Evolv, students must take out materials such as Chromebooks, spirals and three-ring binders and set them on a small table.

 “When it beeps you for no reason, it’s annoying because then you have to get your bag searched,” Melby said. “It’s a frustrating experience.”

The district implemented the Evolv system in 2023 for all MISD high schools to improve the safety of staff and students. Later, the school district increased the sensitivity of the machines, causing more students’ bags to be flagged, forcing them to wait to have their bags searched.

“I believe it’s unfair to give students tardies when they have to go through Evolv and get stopped,” Melby said. “They don’t even have a weapon or anything on them, so it’s not their fault.”

Though students like Melby feel annoyed with the system as a whole, administration, like Mr. Pete Cavazos, assistant principal, and Ms. Monajami said Evolv contributes heavily to student safety.

“My personal feelings about it as an assistant principal and as a parent is that I am actually quite impressed with the technology,” Mr. Cavazos said. “I feel much more at ease while I’m in the building because of the Evolve system.” 

Though major issues with Evolv, like that of Aug. 13, do not happen often, plans for Evolv being down have been put in place. These back-up plans ensure the safety of students and staff.

“I think the first two days [of school] we were having to search a lot of bags,” Mr. Cavazos said. “We have our safeguard metal detector wands, and that definitely does slow down the process.” 

In the past, Evolv revealed a loaded weapon on school premises. This caused bag searches to become more thorough, extending the time students must spend waiting in line.

“It does definitely create some stress,” Mr. Cavazos said. “Not necessarily stress in that I’m worried students are going to bring something that they shouldn’t, it’s more of getting [students] to class on time.”

Both staff and students feel the pressure to arrive at class before the final tardy bell. This causes some students to respond in negative ways to the safety procedures that follow Evolv.

“I think some [students] become a little impatient,” Mr. Cavazos said. “I think overall students do understand that it’s being done because we want to keep them safe.”

Students also feel that changes could be made to the Evolv system, including clear backpacks, a longer table for Chromebooks or even a different system.

“I wish it would give us a button to choose binders and chromebooks so that we could code the system,” Ms. Monajami said. “ It’s supposed to learn, but it’s not arranged for school supplies. The system is not learning.”