No more clear backpacks at Broward public schools.
The school board voted 5-4 Tuesday to cease the rule-making process for clear backpacks for the upcoming 2023-24 school year.
The sudden vote comes after parents and students spoke out in a heated town hall.
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"The District appreciates the community’s engagement and feedback on clear backpacks and other safety policies under consideration and looks forward to further discussions with parents, staff and community members about additional safety initiatives considered in the future," the district said in a statement.
The school board was set to discuss the policy at a workshop next week and eventually vote on the item in July.
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The overwhelming majority of speakers voiced their disdain for the policy at the town hall at Plantation High School on Monday night. School board members Debbi Hixon, Sarah Leonardi, Nora Rupert, Lori Alhadeff and Brenda Fam also expressed their disagreement with the proposed policy.
The district announced on May 5 that only clear backpacks would be allowed in Broward's public schools, including lunch boxes, purses and more.
Exceptions included a school-approved instrument case or athletic bag, a small pouch for personal hygiene items and any thermal food containers, which must be placed in a clear lunch box.
The policy was developed in a closed-door meeting, which some argue was in violation of Florida's Sunshine Law.
The Sunshine Law requires state and local agencies, like the BCPS, to make all activities accessible to the public, which would include a meeting like the one where the clear backpack policy came about.
"This was presented as a done deal, not a policy to be discussed," one woman at the town hall meeting said. "That's not acting in good faith or transparency."
A Broward parent who expressed his support for the clear backpack policy was met with booing from the crowd.
Community members cited a variety of reasons as to why they did not agree with the policy. A lack of privacy for students, an increased chance of getting mugged due to visible products, and ineffectiveness were brought up by many.
“All our school-based administrators want safe learning environments and to that end, they support the clear backpack initiative, but what they’re concerned about is the policing of clear backpacks," said Chuck Harper of the Broward District Advisory Council. "The policing of clear lunch containers and how it interferes with what they’re tasked to do, which is learning."
Many parents also felt the date scheduled for a vote, July 25, was too late since school starts Aug. 21.
