Jonesboro, Ga. (CBS46) — Clayton County Public Schools, the fifth largest school district in the state, is considering requiring students to have clear backpacks when they return to class in the fall to help combat the recent surge in school weapons violations. campuses.
Clear bags will be required for students of classes 3 to 12.
The proposal comes after school district leaders banned backpacks altogether during the final weeks of the school year.
At a school board meeting this week, a security official told board members that there had been 97 weapons breaches on Clayton County school campuses during the past school year in the district.
Connie Fowler, the mother of a seventh-grade student in the district, doesn’t think an explicit backpack requirement will do much to deter a student from bringing a banned item to school.
“If students want to bring drugs or weapons to school, they’re going to do it, no matter what,” Fowler said.
He is also concerned about the privacy of the students.
“You have these little girls who have their feminine products, and they don’t want to show it to all these boys,” she said.
Ataniya Jean-Funny is a teacher whose two children attend a charter school in the district. He likes the idea of clear backpacks.
“This is one thing that can help,” she said, adding that other safety measures may also need to be implemented. “Unfortunately, this is the time we live in. We may still have to do metal detectors in schools.”
The Clayton County School Board will likely vote on the issue this summer.
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