Dallas Independent School District students will find their belongings on display when they return to school in the fall. I can just see the store displays and ads now. If the students can't afford to purchase a new backpack, the district will provide one for them. I can also get the visual of this one. (Are there grimaces on the faces of taxpayers?) Some parents are concerned that expensive items will be easily seen and snatched, while others are worried about the durability of see through backpacks. Regardless of concerns, it is a done deal for the fall.
With words from DISD Board Trustee Jerome Garza championing it, the Board narrowly passed a new policy mandating clear backpacks for all students starting this fall.
A brochure handed out at the board meeting titled: "Keep it Clear" explained that:
Starting in the fall, all backpacks and book bags must be clear plastic or mesh. Students who choose to carry a backpack or a book bag must ensure they are clear plastic or mesh. The use of these bags and packs will help speed up the process of entering the school each morning and help keep all Dallas ISD schools safe and secure.
Clear plastic or mesh backpacks may seem like a good safety idea, but there is a hitch. Clothing and cloth bags are allowed inside the clear or mesh backpacks. Does anyone else find this absurd? Let's see, should I put my contraband in a small, cloth pencil bag inside of my clear backpack or just leave it visible for all to see? One doesn't even have to be a tack in the drawer to see how easy it would be to hide items not approved for school.
Items carried in the bags such as clothing, books and other smaller bags are not required to be clear meaning that prohibited items may be concealed and escape scrutiny.
Since the screening process will be sped up, students may quickly figure out that their bag has a much smaller chance of being screened--which may lead to more contraband instead of less.
Cost to taxpayers may also be an issue. One estimate put the cost of the program between $1 and $2 million dollars annually.
This reminds me of the "clear purse trend" that was around a couple of years ago. I was so proud of one that I purchased in Florida on vacation. It was beautiful! I soon realized that I had to be neat because others were not even averting their eyes when viewing the contents of my purse. I invested in a lovely makeup bag that matched the colors of my clear purse. Eventually, most items in my purse were crammed into the striped makeup bag. I realized I had to purchase another makeup bag because the first one was overloaded. By the time my original purse broke, I had three beautiful cloth bags inside of it.