Clear Backpacks: New Trend in Schools

 

Today I read a synopsis of daily news that included back to school information for 2024. One of the trends in the summary left me feeling disturbed.

The trend is for students to carry clear backpacks. School administrators believe that clear backpacks can combat violence in schools. School districts in at least three states (Virginia, Texas, and Georgia) have new see-through backpack policies (Campus Safety magazine).

Four reasons given for the clear backpack policies are to prevent students from bringing drugs to school, quick visual bag checks, identifying emergency supplies, and promoting student accountability.

I am all about keeping students safe. My brain is saying, “Oh, let’s not have safe and sane gun laws to keep guns out of the hands of our youth. Instead let us strip students of privacy in an effort to keep them safe.” How does a clear backpack keep outside shooters from coming onto campus? Will school personnel call in law enforcement for non-student visitors with regular backpacks or briefcases?

I wonder how these schools are adapting to girls carrying menstrual supplies in their backpack for everyone else to see as they walk from class to class. If they cover the box or container to hide the contents, will they be subject to a search of their backpack? Recalling my own middle-school and high-school years, I would have been mortified if other students, teachers, or administrators had known I was in my cycle. Perhaps the schools with these policies will provide their students with free supplies so they do not need to carry their own? I sure hope so. Puberty is difficult enough without the added knowledge that everyone around you knows about your bodily functions.

Identifying emergency supplies is also questionable as a reason for clear backpacks. How does this not violate medical privacy rules? It is one thing for a teacher to be aware that a student may have a medical condition requiring supplies, another for fellow students to be equally aware of medical information. Last year when I went through training for substituting in Minnesota schools, medical information and any accommodations for students were considered confidential information. HIPPA is a federal law that protects the privacy and security of health information. Won’t clear backpacks violate HIPPA?

Another concern would be that other students can easily see what is in another student’s backpack and gain access to items that belong to others.

I understand that sporting events and concerts now require clear bags. Here is the thing though – those are optional venues. School is not optional for children. Sure, there is home schooling, private schools, and moving away from districts with clear backpack policies as options. However, those options will not be accessible for socio-economic reasons for all families.

I hope all teachers and administrators have to use clear backpacks as well during the school day. If it is okay to violate children’s rights to privacy, why should adults have rights to privacy in the same setting?