Clear bag policy faces opposition from parents – Coastal Observer

Clear bag policy faces opposition from parents – Coastal Observer

Parents widely oppose the Georgetown County School District implementing a clear backpack policy for students. The district received more than 600 responses within five minutes of sending out a survey via text, said Kristi Kibler, the district’s public information officer. “We had people chiming in right away,” she said. There were 3,052 responses to the survey that was posted to the district’s website and sent to parents via email. More than half, 54.3 percent, either opposed or strongly opposed implementing a clear bookbag policy. “To me, I think the answer is fairly clear about what the public wants, the parents want,” said Board Member Jarrod Ownbey. “This is the one we ought to start listening to.” There were 20 percent of respondents who were neutral or unsure about the proposal. “I’m going to guess that at least some fraction of that 20 percent that is neutral or unsure will probably fall in that category at some point,” Ownbey added. Parents selected which school levels their children attend. The most responses came from parents who had a child enrolled at the elementary level, making up almost 49 percent.  The same percentage of respondents, 42 percent, said clear backpacks  increased school safety and there are no significant benefits. Parents chose up to three options or typed their own response. Other benefits included deterrence of bringing prohibited items to school (41.4 percent), faster identification of prohibited items (36.8), greater peace of mind for students, staff and families (25.4) and consistency with policies used at athletic events (14.3). More than half of respondents, 61.4 percent, listed durability as the top concern. Alan Walters, the district’s chief operations officer, said the only benefit that he found was consistent was a potential for decreased screening time.  The district currently requires clear bags for athletic events but not during the school day. Open Gate scanners went into daily use at the middle and high schools in 2023. Weapon detection systems use artificial intelligence to screen people and bags. It can make the process a bit quicker than it would be with a solid color bag, Walters added. “A clear bag does help you see what’s in the bag. It does not eliminate the need to go through items that are in the bag,” he told the board. “But in some cases, it also helps promote a culture that people know those things have to be searched.” He said there was a lack of data-driven research that supported the use of clear bags in schools.  “There’s not a clear cut answer to it,” Walters said. Ownbey asked Walters and Kibler a series of questions regarding prohibited items, such as weapons and e-cigarettes, entering school grounds despite safety measures in place. “I’ve been saying this for years. If there was a 100 percent absolute way to guarantee that we could keep weapons and contraband out of school, everybody would be doing it,” Walters said. “I don’t know that we can ever get there but every day we’re working as hard as we can to get a little closer to it.” The negatives, such as bag durability and student privacy, outweigh the “perceived” positives, Ownbey said.  “We’re still going to do the same things. You just now have a clear backpack,” Ownbey said, adding that the negatives will become a bigger issue. Chairman Keith Moore repeated a conversation he had earlier in the day. “It blows my mind when someone who can afford Waccamaw complains about a cost of a book bag that folks on Carvers Bay side has afforded for the last four years,” Moore said. His three children were required to have clear backpacks. Some policies work better at some schools than others, Board Member Patti Hammel said. “I’m not sure that we have to have an overall kind of mandate. I think schools ought to be able to make their individual choices for the way they’re going to handle this,” Hammel said. Carvers Bay High implemented the policy four years ago. The school bought the clear backpacks in bulk and offered students the option to buy one for $30 and included one free replacement. Most students had to take that opportunity.  Moore said he would love to know which areas the survey responses came from. “Just like there’s a few folks who are opposed, there are those who are in favor for the reason that I am as well. Safety,” Moore said.