Reply to Banner MoCo: Parents raise concerns about Volt AI camera surveillance and piloting processes

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[quote=Anonymous]SOURCE: https://www.thebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/ai-weapons-detection-wootton-mcps-GSXGSXNN6JE3TLHWXNCIPHYDVA/?bis=article-action-link

[QUOTE]After a shooting at Wootton High School last month, parents demanded answers: How did a teenager manage to bring a gun onto the Rockville campus? Why wasn’t there something in place to stop him?

Behind the scenes, the district was working on it. Montgomery County schools superintendent Thomas Taylor shared just hours after the shooting that MCPS would soon launch a trial run of an AI-powered weapons detection system.

Now parents have a whole new set of questions: Are there safeguards in place? Would the software target kids of color? Could footage end up in ICE’s hands? And why did the district pick Bethesda-based VOLT AI for the pilot?

“Safety is paramount,” said Terrena Smith, a mother of two. “But when it comes to safety technology, it should really meet a high bar as far as necessity, transparency and equity. And I haven’t seen that.”

Company leaders say their technology works with existing campus security cameras to flag potential dangers, such as if someone sneaks a weapon onto school grounds.

The pilot agreement states that VOLT AI also looks for “suspicious activity.” It “evaluates loitering, erratic movements, or other patterns that deviate from normal behavior.”

Montgomery County is among a growing number of Maryland school districts turning to new technology in hopes of preventing future violence. Systems like VOLT AI are positioned as one alternative to metal detectors, which many worry make schools feel like prisons. But weapons detection technology fueled by artificial intelligence has already drawn criticism for false alarms and equity concerns.

Adding to Montgomery County parents’ unease are rumblings about the district’s track record when purchasing security software. In 2025, a district dad flagged the Office of the Inspector General with concerns about whether a different company inappropriately flexed its connection to a local politician.

The school security industry has grown into a multibillion-dollar market, with companies pitching district leaders on everything from bulletproof whiteboards to drones that hit active shooters with pepper spray.[/QUOTE][/quote]

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