Gwinnett County Schools said the pilot program “aims to increase visibility and create a more secure school environment for our students.”
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — In Gwinnett County, parents tell 11Alive the school safety solution is anything but clear. Their children are dealing with broken zippers, unraveling seams and giant tears in the school-purchased bags.
“Out of four kids, three of them have broken their backpacks,” Lorelei Hallet said. “They’re just flimsy and ridiculous.”
Gwinnett County Public Schools selected 33 schools to participate in a four-week pilot program to learn how a clear backpack requirement might work across the district.
RELATED: Here’s what Gwinnett County students, parents think on implementing clear backpacks in schools
Elementary Schools are testing the policy from Jan. 13 to Feb. 7, whereas middle and high schools are trying the pilot from Jan. 6 to Jan. 31.
“My son is in elementary school, so for him, it works great. It’s just an agenda and a folder,” Nayhenne Rosa told 11Alive. “But, my middle school daughter carries everything, like books, binders, the laptop. Within three days, she was on book bag number three, because they just break so easily.”
The district did not respond to 11Alive’s phone call or email before 4 p.m. on Wednesday. However, its website says replacement clear backpacks are available through the schools.
“Testing the durability of the backpacks is an important part of the pilot program, and schools will track how many backpacks must be replaced due to everyday use,” its website said.
There are also exceptions for small personal items during the pilot, including “lunch boxes, pencil pouches, purses, instrument cases for music students and athletic bags for athletes.”
“My suggestion would be look into getting metal detectors or something similar to that,” Hallet said. “I know it’s going to be difficult, but again, kids can and do hide things in their backpacks all the time, and this is completely showing the kids that we as educators don’t trust them.”
Rosa said her daughter doesn’t feel safer at school with the backpack policy. She hopes the district will look at metal detectors or extra school resource officers instead.
“I get in the beginning, it’s a huge cost, but long term, it’s worth saving our kids’ lives,” she said. “I think that would be a safer way for our kids.”
The district will use feedback and data from the pilot program to make a decision about whether to implement a permanent clear bag policy.
It said that decision will be made by March 3.
