Clear or mesh backpacks required for Dallas middle and high school students

Dallas middle school and high school students must use clear or mesh backpacks when classes start next month, district officials announced Monday. The shift – which follows the deadly Uvalde school shooting – comes as districts work to improve campus safety nationwide. “We acknowledge that clear or mesh backpacks alone will not eliminate safety concerns,” according to a new district webpage. “This is merely one of several steps in the district’s comprehensive plan to better ensure student and staff safety.” The administration purchased clear backpacks for all secondary students and plans to distribute them before the start of the school year. It will cost about $800,000 to supply the bags to DISD’s roughly 70,000 middle and high school students. The new backpack policy differs from a proposal that was prematurely uploaded to the district’s website earlier this summer. That draft version would’ve required only entirely clear backpacks for all students, including elementary schoolers.

Within their bag, secondary students can carry a small, non-clear pouch to hold items such as money, phones and hygiene products. Backpacks that don’t meet DISD’s criteria will be kept in a campus office until the student’s parent or guardian can pick them up. District officials plan to announce additional safety updates later this month. District officials wrote in an FAQ that the decision was based on community input, as well as recommendations from DISD’s Safety Task Force and Internal Task Force. It was in the works prior to the shooting at Robb Elementary where 19 children and two teachers were killed. “The decision was made to purchase clear backpacks for each secondary student and to require backpacks where contents are visible to continue to reduce risks that could put students and staff in harm’s way,” officials wrote. After previous school shootings, officials elsewhere have also turned to clear backpacks, although some school safety experts have questioned the effectiveness of the strategy. Kennedale ISD, about 10 miles outside of Fort Worth, recently announced it’s also mandating all students in sixth through 12th grade use clear backpacks this school yearl. Greenville ISD will also require transparent bags. In a message to families, GISD officials wrote that the “common-sense measure is becoming more common at both school and public events.” Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in the Houston area has required clear bags for older students since 2018.