On a recent Wednesday, senior Shaylee Messersmith grabbed a bucket, loaded it with her belongings and set off for Dupo High School. One student hauled their supplies in a traffic cone, another in a shopping cart.
Messersmith and her friends donned these unorthodox accessories in protest of the school’s backpack policy, which Messersmith said became stricter this week with little warning. Roughly a dozen more teenagers also participated in this student-led “anything but a backpack” demonstration, Messersmith said, and were told to put their makeshift backpacks in their cars or leave them in the office.
In a mass email sent to parents, the school said safety was the reason they are enforcing stricter rules. It’s not without push back, though, as some question the effectiveness of the policy and its roll out.
“I think [school officials] know we’re mad, but at the same time, they don’t think about how irritating it is this late in the school year to push this rule out, even though it won’t really stop anything [unsafe],” Messersmith said.
Students at Dupo Junior High and High School can use backpacks to carry books and other supplies to and from school, but not when moving from class to class, according to a long-standing policy included in student-parent handbooks. Backpacks are to be kept in students’ lockers during the school day, the policy continues.
Previous to the stricter rules enforcement, students used an array of alternative bags as they navigated the school campus — drawstring bags, purses, totes, laptop carriers and fanny packs, Messersmith said.
But Messersmith said those options became more limited last week.
In an email multiple parents said they received Wednesday, March 12, the school specified that drawstring bags, purses, or any small bags or clutches with straps that are larger than 5 by 9 inches are not allowed. Chromebook bags with a shoulder strap, so long as they are 15.6 by 12 inches or smaller, are the exception.
These more specific regulations were news to students and parents alike, many of whom took to social media to voice their opinions. As of Friday, the size criteria and ban on drawstring bags and “purses,” were not mentioned in student-parent handbooks online dating back to the 2022-23 school year.
The additional rules sparked a flurry of questions from students and parents, some wondering if the change was prompted by any recent incidents.
In early February, local schools went on lockdown as a “precautionary measure” in response to a fatal shooting in Dupo that was investigated by the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis. The shooting occurred at 111 N. Second Street, about three blocks from the junior and senior high schools.
Dupo District 196 Superintendent Victoria White and high school and junior high Principal Keith Book did not return multiple messages left with an administrative assistant. A BND reporter emailed White six questions requesting clarity on the district’s policy, when the size stipulations were introduced and what prompted them.
White declined to answer. She instead provided the following statement:
“At Dupo High School, the safety and well-being of our students is top priority. For this reason, we as a school community must work together to reinforce safety practices, including the long-term established backpack/bag policy. This is a part of a broader set of safety measures implemented to ensure a secure, engaging learning environment.”
The BND filed a public records request, asking for any written electronic communication the district, White or Book had with parents, employees and students about the policy since February 1. Per Illinois statute, the district must reply before next week.
An effective safety measure?
Some parents, like Amy Agnew, are thankful for the extra precautions taken by the district through updated backpack rules. Agnew, whose son is a senior at the high school, said Wednesday’s email is a sign of the times.
“Parents give their kids free roam with no guidance, no consequences … [the kids’] availability to do wrong is open wide,” Agnew said. “So we should be very proud of Dupo’s administration for taking action on making the place we send our kids to every day a safe place for them to be. I, for one, would love to see more safety measures in place.”
Messersmith said the school taking safety precautions is not contentious, but she wonders if it could be done in a way that doesn’t make life harder for her and her fellow students.
With the school’s size, it can be difficult, if not impossible, for students to visit their lockers in between class periods, let alone also use the bathroom, she said. With students now having to carry smaller bags or forgo bags altogether, they’ll need to stop at their lockers more, she said.
“I fully understand the backpack rule,” Messersmith said, referring to keeping backpacks in lockers. “But, if they were able to search our bags, like a drawstring bag, we should be able to carry those bags.”
Amanda Crase, whose son is a sophomore at the high school, said she too is “100% for keeping kids safe.” She’s not sure bag size restrictions will make much of a difference, though.
“If you’re that worried about safety, find some money to buy metal detectors,” Crase said. “A 15.6 inch by 12 inch Chromebook bag can hide as much as a bookbag can, pretty much.”
Crase also said that while her son was informed of the changes Tuesday, parents were not informed until they received the school’s mass email Wednesday — the day Messersmith said the school started enforcing the measurement rules. The two separate communications caused confusion, Crase said.
Crase also questioned why the district doesn’t just institute a clear backpack policy, like neighboring East St. Louis School District 189. It’s a policy Agnew said she would support as well.
In East St. Louis, students are allowed to carry their clear backpacks throughout the day. Students may also carry a “non-clear pouch or purse no larger than 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches to hold personal items, such as hygiene products or cell phones,” this school year’s student handbook states.
Other districts, like Belleville Township High School District 201, don’t require a specific type or size of backpack. Students there can also carry their backpacks throughout the school day.
In some cases, Dupo’s backpack policy can be harmful to some students, Crase said, pointing to her son as an example. He has asthma and carried his inhaler with him in a drawstring bag. According to the distric’s recent email, his bag is not allowed. Crase said her son could easily lose his inhaler without his bag, so it’s now kept in the nurse’s office.
“He’ll have to rely on the nurses if he has trouble breathing and falls into an asthma attack,” Crase said. That’s scary because when her son previously kept his inhaler there, his teachers wouldn’t always let him leave class to get it, Crase said.
This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Madison Lammert is a reporter for the BND, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
