CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Clayton County middle and high schoolers will no longer be able to wear backpacks or use lockers through the end of the school year.
On Tuesday, Superintendent Dr. Morcease Beasley announced this change during a one-hour video posted online, calling the decision one based on safety.
Beasley said the policy was made after a rise in the number of students bringing weapons to schools.
"It should not be the case that a student gets into an altercation on a school bus and another student takes out a gun and hits them over the head. Shameful," Beasley said in the video.
In late February, for example, the district announced a student discharged a gun at Jonesboro High School.
Briana Kimbrough's oldest son, CJ, is a 9th grader at the school.
He said he underwent backpack checks at the school.
"It is scary," he said.
His mother said she shares similar concerns as Beasley.
"I think they're finding things like every day, like a knife. They were consistently finding weapons. Kids are not using their good common sense," Kimbrough said.
She also has a child at a middle school and another at an elementary school in the county. The backpack policy will only affect CJ and her middle school son. Both of them play sports.
"My students are student-athletes, so carrying their equipment, and their clothes for after school and their cleats and all of that does pose a challenge, but I see the need for it," she said. "At the same time, it doesn't seem like a sustainable solution. Seems like a band-aid for more (a) long-term solution," she said.
Kimbrough, who was in school when the Columbine High School shooting took place, credits the district for trying to put safety first.
"At the end of the day, [CJ] understands that it's for his safety and the safety of his peers and his teachers, but he's a pretty easygoing kid, boys are kind of just go with the flow," she added. "I think girls probably would have bigger issues because girls carry a lot of stuff with them but boys --- (as) long as they have pockets, they're good to go. So he's not too concerned."
Beasley also announced the district is working on installing or updating metal detectors at its middle and high schools.
"Most of the weapons that we have found, students have been instrumental in helping us to know that those weapons are on the campus. However, that is not good enough. So today, as a superintendent, I get the opportunity to share the unpopular decisions that will not please all of you," he said in the video.
Beasley said the change has been wanted on behalf of the 7,500 employees and nine school board members in the district.
"At the secondary level, we will continue to use wands and metal detectors to minimize, mitigate, and discourage the bringing of weapons, in particular guns, and other weapons of course, on our campuses," he said.
The superintendent explained that schools will be implementing the use of the devices several times a week. Students will also be submitted to random searches by the Clayton County Public Schools Police Department and in collaboration with the Clayton County Police Department and the police from cities in the area.
Beasley also pointed to several factors on why the use of weapons has increased, especially among the younger population.
He said it's a combination in part of students who have low parental involvement in their lives, are involved in gangs, do not partake in community involvement, and low cognitive function.
"We have a society with guns everywhere," he said. "Eight children and teens are killed or injured in unintentional shootings involving an improperly stored gun each day in America," he said, as he listed off other statistics.
Beasley also said everyone attending in-person graduation in late May will also have to go through metal detectors.
"There are those that we've had to address this year, who seemed to think it is appropriate to bring weapons and particular guns, BB guns, real ones or fake into our schools, thereby compromising the safety of our learning environments," he said.
At the end of the day, Kimbrough said, Beasley is doing the right thing as safety comes first.
"It's an inconvenience - we have to think strategically about how we get everything done, and how we have what we need. But at the end of the day, it keeps my child safe, or the other children safe in the school or the teachers and administrators safe," she said.
Every school district has its own policy in place when it comes to backpacks.
Fulton County Schools allows backpacks at the principal's discretion.
Rockdale County Public Schools is requiring all students to carry clear backpacks for the 2022-2023 school year. The district is planning to buy nearly 17,000 clear bags for its students.