FRANKTON, Ind. — Frankton Junior-Senior High School is now enforcing a clear backpack policy after a bomb threat earlier this year. In September, hundreds of students were forced to leave campus when someone reported a bomb threat on a bathroom wall.
Before a student steps in these hallways, school officials want to see everything coming through their doors.
“As a parent, you want your kids to go to school and feel safe and be safe,” said Brent Brobston, a parent and the athletic director.
Two of Brobston’s kids go to school at Frankton Junior-Senior High. He said the principal decided to enforce a clear backpack policy a few days after the threat.
“You don’t want to see that happen, but I think our administration has done a good job in terms of being proactive,” he said.
Students must also keep the bags in their locker until school gets out. Brobston said overall, the feedback has been positive. Now, the school board is wondering if the policy should be expanded to Lapel High School.
“We are going to have further discussion on what are we going to do with this policy. Are we going to make it district wide? Just at the high school?” said Bobby Fields, Superintendent of Frankton-Lapel Community Schools.
Fields said Frankton Junior-Senior High School briefly used metal detector wands after the threat in September. He said clear backpacks would make things easier if they use the wands again.
“If we do a metal detector check, which we did some, you know you easily see if you wand the backpack and it goes off, you see what is in there and let that kid go on through,” he said.
There are no school resource officers on the campus. Administrators believe this measure is a way to keep their kids safe too.
“That we may be just the school that has been proactive early and you are going to see it more and more in society as time moves on,” said Brobston.
School officials said clear backpacks have also helped staff enforce other rules too. They have been able to catch more vaping products on students because it is a little easier to find them.
