Photo: NBC News/YouTube
The school district in Flint, Michigan announced last week that it wouldban students from bringing backpacksamid an increased threat of gun violence in schools across the country.
In a letter to parents dated on April 27 and shared on the organization’s site, Flint Community Schools said starting this week, students would no longer be allowed to bring any backpacks, even those made out of clear plastic, into school buildings. The notice added that students are only allowed to bring small purses with personal items like wallets, keys and their phone, clear plastic bags with gym clothes and some lunchboxes.
“Across the country, we have seen an increase in threatening behavior and contraband, including weapons, being brought into schools at all levels,” said Flint Community Schools Superintendent Kevelin Jones, who noted in a separate statement to local news station Mid-Michigan Now that “threats, both online and in person, are happening at an alarming rate.”
Jones said that backpacks “make it easier for students to hide weapons,” and even clear backpacks don’t solve the issue because the weapons could be “disassembled” and hidden in backpack pockets, books or other items.
“By banning backpacks altogether and adding an increased security presence across the district, we can better control what is being brought into our buildings,” Jones said. “… Based on the issues we continue to see across the country regarding school safety, we believe that this is the best solution for those we serve.”
The announcement comes after Flint Southwestern Classical Academy, which is under Flint Community Schools, waslocked down for two daysdue to a “threat,” per Mid-Michigan Now.
The school district did not disclose what the threat was, but said in a statement to the news station that they “heightened our safety protocolsand entry procedures and added additional safety personnel” in light of the incident. They also encouraged students in their statement to not bring backpacks “if they do not need them” at the time.
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There have been several reported incidents of students bringing guns to school this year.
Last week a teenage student in Knoxville, Tennessee wascharged with reckless endangerment, reckless aggravated assault and possession of a weapon on school grounds after a gun in his backpack went off in a classroom and the bullet grazed his teacher, according to the Knoxville Police Department.
In January, a student was also arrested for trying tobring a gun to campusat a high school in the Nanuet, New York, per local Bronx news station News 12.
source: people.com
