Photo courtesy of DISD.
All Dallas ISD students will be required to carry clear or mesh backpacks when they return to school in the fall, the district announced Wednesday.
The decision was made as part of an “ongoing effort to ensure safer schools.”
While the district would prefer students to carry clear backpacks, mesh will be allowed. Students will be allowed to carry a nonclear pouch in their backpack for personal items, the district said.
Every student will be provided with a free, durable clear backpack, the district said, although families are welcome to purchase their own.
“While the district acknowledges that clear or mesh backpacks alone will not eliminate safety concerns, this will allow school personnel to better monitor contents of student bags when entering the campus to ensure that prohibited items are not included among the students’ belongings,” the district said in a statement.
Clear backpacks could also help prevent the need to search every backpack at the start of the day, speeding up the morning arrival process, the statement said.
Dallas ISD tested out clear backpacks with students in sixth through 12th grade this past school year.
The policy decision came shortly after the Robb Elementary mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which killed 19 students and two teachers.
While Dallas is the largest school district in Texas to implement a clear bag policy, many smaller districts implemented similar security measures following the Robb Elementary shooting.
Austin-area districts Manor ISD and Del Valle ISD both implemented a clear bag policy for middle and high schoolers last year. Several San Antonio-area districts, as well as Greenville ISD, Harper ISD and Ingleside ISD also required clear bags in the 2022-2023 school year.
In April, DeSoto ISD enacted a complete backpack ban for sixth through 12th graders with six weeks left in the school year.
“This measure is being taken out of an abundance of caution and to reduce safety concerns,” DeSoto ISD said in a statement.
