The Dallas Independent School District announced a change in safety guidelines that requires all middle and high school students to use a clear or mesh backpack when on campus, echoing moves made by other school districts in Texas after the deadly elementary school mass shooting in Uvalde.
Clear backpacks would be required for the 2022-23 school year, which begins in August, and covers students in sixth through 12th grade, the Dallas school district said on Monday. Other types of bags will no longer be allowed.
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“By being able to easily see the items in the backpacks as students enter the school, campus personnel will be able to ensure that prohibited items are not included among the students’ belongings,” the district said on its website. “We acknowledge that clear or mesh backpacks alone will not eliminate safety concerns.”
The mandate is also likely to speed up the check-in process when students arrive on campus, eliminating the need for a bag check, school district officials said. As such, the main part of the backpack must be clear, but the straps themselves can be solid colors, the statement says. However, students are allowed to bring one 5.5-by-8.5-inch nonclear pouch to hold personal items such as cellphones, money, and hygiene products.
All bags that do not meet the new requirement will be kept in the school’s office until a parent or guardian can pick it up. “The district has purchased and will distribute a free clear backpack to secondary students before the start of the school year,” the statement adds.
Other school districts have implemented similar protocols in the aftermath of the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde that resulted in the deaths of 21 people, 19 of whom were children. The Southside Independent School District in San Antonio, the Harper Independent School District, and the Ingleside Independent School District near Corpus Christi made similar decisions last month, according to CNN.
A school in Greenville also said it would implement more safety guidelines, including keeping classroom doors locked at all times and limiting access points into its schools, the outlet reported.
A Texas House committee released an extensive preliminary report on the Uvalde school shooting on Sunday, detailing in part the “systemic failures and egregious poor decision making” that extended beyond local police, including a family who did not recognize and act on warning signs and a school district that did not adhere to its safety plan.
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The Uvalde shooting revitalized calls for communities to do more to protect students. Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced $105.5 million to support additional school safety and mental health initiatives through the end of August 2023. The funding will provide money for school districts to buy silent panic alert technology and bullet-resistant shields for police officers, according to the Texas Tribune.
