Loudoun County Public Schools will conduct random, unannounced searches with drug-sniffing dogs to prevent fentanyl and other drugs from getting into high schools.
Starting next month, a sheriff’s office dog handler, the school resource officer and an administrator will scan a school's hallways and common areas.
The school district says it plans to notify the school community immediately after a search is conducted. The district hopes to do a drug scan at every high school by the end of the year.
The school will go into what’s called a “hold mode” during the scan, LCPS spokesperson Dan Adams said.
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“Potentially saves a life and sends the message that this kind of stuff isn’t allowed in Loudoun County schools,” he said. “The school will go into what we call a hold mode, so there won’t be a lot of people in the hallways. It’ll be very safe.”
Fentanyl is the most common drug for overdose deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last fall, Park View High School in Sterling had nine suspected student overdoses, all believed to be fentanyl-laced pills.
Following those overdoses, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office reported 19 young people had suspected opioid overdoses, but not all were school related. The school district has reported four suspected student overdoses since.
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Sheriff Mike Chapman said they are seeing a growing number of younger people being exposed to fentanyl.
“Our numbers have stayed pretty consistent," he said. "What concerns me is we’re now seeing younger and younger people getting exposed to this and we really have to attack it head on.”
Chapman also added they feel this is necessary to potentially save lives.
“Those kinds of things do help deter, so we want to make sure it’s a surprise to them so the students never know what school we’re looking at at any particular time,” he said.
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