Parents have begun to receive a patchwork of ad-hoc mentions of a new requirement for middle and high school students to carry clear backpacks to school come the fall. Some schools within Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) have added clear backpacks to uniform and supply lists on their sites. Others haven’t communicated the requirement with their families.
The school system itself mentioned the new requirement in a recent newsletter to PGCPS families on June 12, but it was under section IV “Activities for Teens” and easily missed by many. “While shopping for school supplies, don’t forget that middle and high school students will require clear backpacks, starting this fall,” that mention read.
A June 14 parent newsletter from Principal Portia Barnes at Eleanor Roosevelt High School announced, “Please be reminded that clear bookbags/backpacks are a requirement for all PGCPS high school students for next school year. Administration is looking to work with a PGCPS-approved vendor to sell to parents/students. More information is forthcoming.”
A staff member at Greenbelt Middle School said they’ve heard of the requirement but couldn’t provide further details. A representative from Dora Kennedy French Immersion (DKFI) said the school’s administration had not yet received official communication about it from the system but they believe clear backpacks may be put in place for every grade at their school, which serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
District 2 Board member Jonathan Briggs, who has sat on the Policy and Governance Committee since mid-January, told the News Review this week that he had not seen a new policy requiring clear backpacks.
Asked about how requirements for middle and high school students would be implemented at K-8 schools, Briggs said it was “open to interpretation for parents and the community in schools like DKFI around what they should do.” Yet, he said, “it is likely that if you have a child that is middle school-aged or high school-aged, then you should plan to purchase a clear bookbag.”
Asked what would happen if students arrived at school with non-complying bookbags, Briggs referred the News Review to PGCPS administrative policy 5152, which states: “The intention of the Student Dress Code is to seek compliance from students, but implementation of the Code should avoid keeping students out of class. This may necessitate admitting students to school whose dress is not in compliance with the Student Dress Code, possibly retaining him/her in the office, and calling the parent/guardian to bring a change of clothing. Reasonable and prudent judgment should be utilized by school administrators in the enforcement of the System-wide Student Dress Code. Suspension is not expected to be used in the implementation and enforcement of the Student Dress Code, unless there are serious aggravating circumstances.”
Briggs agreed with the suggestion that a change in policy to require clear bookbags is likely motivated by safety concerns. “We have had big issues with drugs and violent incidents throughout the year,” he noted. He added that PGCPS is piloting a new security system in nine schools this summer, with plans to expand to other schools in the fall. “Hopefully, this will address the need for clear bookbags since the advanced system can detect objects on a person,” Briggs told the News Review.
A representative from the Office of the Board of Education suggested contacting the PGCPS CEO’s office, which had not responded by the time of press.