SUFFOLK, Va. — Suffolk Public Schools officials are asking students to use clear backpacks starting next week, a change for some parents that's coming with a lot of questions.
The school system will provide middle and high schoolers with the bag starting Monday. The goal is to allow campus staff to make sure prohibited items are not brought into school.
Chandra Madison-Wise, a parent with children in middle and high school, said she created a Facebook group for parents and many of them are leaving comments about the bags.
“I was definitely like okay, you know, is it going to be mandatory? I was wondering how my son will react and I also wondered how my daughter would react,” Madison-Wise said.
One of the parents she mentioned said she paid a lot of money for her children's backpack.
Anthonette Ward-Dickens, a Suffolk Public Schools spokeswoman, said this is a new initiative and the goal is to help make security checks more fluid and efficient.
“If the schools feel like this is one step closer to helping the safety of the children then I’m all for it,” said Madison-Wise.
Ward-Dickens said the program is voluntary and students will be given one free backpack during lunchtime Monday. But Madison-Wise also believes another conversation between parents and the school division needs to happen.
“What can we do to resolve children from bringing anything into the schools in the first place,” Madison-Wise said.
School officials said elementary school students will not be part of this new program.