Fairfax County's teachers' union has filed a grievance challenging the district's assignment of teachers to operate weapons detectors.

The Fairfax County Federation of Teachers (FCFT) filed the complaint on behalf of staff at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, FFXnow first reported on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Teachers there say they are not qualified to screen students passing through OpenGate security scanners and that the duty falls outside their professional responsibilities.

The policy at issue is FCPS-wide, so the grievance's resolution would set a precedent for all secondary schools, including McLean High School and Langley High School. FCPS expanded OpenGate use to varsity football games at both schools this year.

FCPS installed the detectors in every middle and high school in fall 2025, funded through one-time year-end money and settlement funds from a class action lawsuit against a vaping company. The district classifies operating the scanners as an "instructional and professional responsibility," or IPR. That means principals can assign the duty to teachers.

Bill McCabe, an English teacher and union shop steward at Lake Braddock who has taught there for 30 years, was one of the teachers who refused the assignment. He and another teacher were formally reprimanded after asking to be reassigned.

"I have taught at Lake Braddock for 30 years … I'm a three-time National Board certified teacher … I was called unprofessional. I was called insubordinate," McCabe told FFXnow.

The union argues weapons detection is a security function, not a teaching one. FCFT President Emily VanDerhoff told FFXnow the duty is unrelated to the work of classroom teachers or counselors. The union's proposed fix: make the duty voluntary and offer a stipend to teachers who opt in.

Before filing the grievance, Lake Braddock staff gathered a petition with more than 80 signatures, protested outside the school on back-to-school night, spoke at school board meetings, and launched a public petition that collected 3,000 signatures.

Both sides testified before a hearings officer on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Sonja Curry-Johnson, an English teacher and union steward named in the grievance, told FFXnow that testimony revealed inconsistent practices across the district. A witness described how Fairfax High School used a Google form to ask for volunteers and offered a stipend.

School Board Member Melanie Meren, who represents the Hunter Mill District, cited the weapons screening burden as part of broader FCPS staffing concerns she raised in September, FFXnow reported.

FCPS declined to comment before the grievance process is complete, according to FFXnow. The hearings officer's recommendation has not been issued. The school board will have the final word.