Vorspack Clear Backpack Heavy Duty PVC Transparent Backpack. (Amazon.com)
Worcester Public School students can now carry whatever type of backpack they like to class with them, thanks to a vote from the Worcester School Committee Thursday.
A previous rule in the student handbook only allowed students to carry mesh or transparent backpacks to class with them, meaning any student that brought a backpack that wasn’t see-through had to leave it in their lockers.
The committee voted 5 to 1 to eliminate the rule, with Committee Member Jermoh Kamara casting the only dissenting vote.
Committee Member Laura Clancey brought the item, which was brought to her by student representatives, forward to the committee.
Clancey said the enforcement of the rule differed across the district, with some schools allowing students to carry any style of backpacks around with them, while other schools enforced the mesh or transparent backpack rule.
The committee member spoke about her high schooler’s own experience, saying her daughter had been marked tardy to class numerous times because her school building was so large and “it’s very hard to... have to keep going back and forth to her locker.”
She also said the mesh and transparent bags that are available are low quality and expensive to replace.
Kamara said she didn’t agree with students being able to carry backpacks to class because she sees it as a safety issue. She also said she didn’t agree with the argument that students didn’t have enough opportunities to go to their lockers throughout the school day.
“It’s not a question about whether or not... we trust our students. That is not the question here. That is not what we’re talking about, but it’s more about the overall safety of our public schools,” she said.
School Committee member Tracey O’Connell Novick said she was offended by the idea that the rule removed students’ ability to have any privacy.
“This policy actually to me is very representative of a particular way of looking at our students as being safety hazards all the time and our effectively having a policy that is founded on a fundamental mistrust of our students, which I am bothered by already,” O’Connell Novick said.
She also raised issue with the the mesh backpacks that are available to the students, which she said are destroyed in a matter of weeks.
Mesh or transparent backpacks have been promoted in schools as a way to avoid school shooting and terrorist attacks. In Parkland, Florida, following the 2018 deadly shooting at Majorie Stoneman Douglas High School, students were required to wear clear plastic backpacks.
Now, thanks to the school committee vote, Worcester Public School student will be able to carry their belongings in whatever color backpack they like when they start the semester on Aug. 22.
Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).
© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.