JOHNSON CITY (WBNG) — As schools prepare for students to return, Johnson City Central School District officials are thinking of ways to keep staff and students safe and healthy.

The Intelli-Temp thermal scanner made by Intelligreen is the district’s new line of defense to prevent COVID-19.

“It’s accurate to half a degree and we figure we can do 15 to 20 individuals in a minute,” said Assistant Superintendent for Administration Eric Race.

Right now, the district is asking parents to continue to take their child’s temperature before sending them to school because these scanners won’t be used on everyone, every day.

“This was done as an added precaution, to try to mitigate anybody from having a temperature from entering the building,” said Race.

Each morning, students will enter the high school through four doors, creating four lines. Two of those four lines will be tested at random through the scanners. Not only do the scanners test for temperature, but they also recognize if you are wearing a mask.

“For us, it’s really about getting as many students and staff in the building, going through a random temperature check as quickly as possible,” said Race.

The scanners have also been modified to include added privacy settings for students, making it more discreet, only alerting teachers if a high temperature is recorded.

District officials say these new scanners are an added way of life for getting an education in the classroom.

“We train how to do fire drills in schools, we train how to do lock downs in schools, we’re going to need to do education training on social distancing, proper hygiene, hand-washing, mask wearing, so it’s a new world for schools,” said Race.

Any visitors also entering the building will be required to use the scanners before granting access.