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Children under the age of 12 will soon be able to leave their shoes on during TSA airport screenings, according to Homeland Security.
During a Senate press conference on Tuesday regarding terror threats, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said children will no longer have to remove their shoes to be screened. The TSA will roll out the new policy in the upcoming months.
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According to Napolitano, the changes will also include different pat-down policies for children amid complaints from travelers and human advocacy groups.
"We have been piloting...programs to deal with children under the age of 12 with respect to not only taking off their shoes but also pat-down procedures," said Napolitano.
The announcement comes after complaints were filed about screening children, who activists say don't pose a threat to national security and shouldn't be patted down.
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While the new policy hasn't been fully disclosed, Napolitano said children will be able to leave shoes on during airport screenings.
The changes will be adopted within the next few months, according to Napolitano.
"We hope, over the coming weeks and months, to be able to begin rolling that out," she said. "It does require additional training of all of the thousands of TSA officers, and that's under way."
