Dallas middle and high school students required to carry clear or mesh backpacks

Students in Dallas will be required to use clear or mesh backpacks when they return to school in the fall, district officials announced on Monday.

The Dallas Independent School District (ISD), the second largest in Texas, updated its website to require see-through backpacks for students from sixth to 12th grade. A nonclear pouch will be allowed in the backpack to carry personal items.

Officials said the rule would create a safer environment for students after the deadly mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in May, which left 19 children and two adults dead.

The Dallas ISD said they would distribute free, clear bags before the school year starts in the fall.

“We acknowledge that clear or mesh backpacks alone will not eliminate safety concerns. This is merely one of several steps in the district’s comprehensive plan to better ensure student and staff safety,” officials wrote on the website.

The decision was made after the district collected feedback from the community. A school task force had also recommended the policy.

Requiring students to wear clear or mesh backpacks is not a new idea. After a gunman opened fire inside a high school in Parkland, Fla., in 2018, the school district encompassing the high school in Broward County also required students to wear clear backpacks.

A clear backpack rule was also instituted for some students in Oxford, Mich., after a gunman killed four students and injured seven others at a local high school last year.