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Families search for clear backpacks to meet new Dallas ISD requirements

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Dallas ISD will require students in grades 6-12 to carry clear backpacks, citing safety concerns.

Some North Texas retailers are reporting little to no stock of clear backpacks ahead of the new school year.

It comes as the Dallas Independent School District announced students in grades 6-12 will be required to carry clear or mesh backpacks.

Antonio Monrial, a manager at a North Dallas Dick's Sporting Goods, said they're selling out quickly.

“I had one Adidas mesh backpack, and that walked out of the store a week ago,” Monrial said.

Monrial says his nephews attend Dallas ISD, and the family has been searching for compliant backpacks.

“My sister was asking me about clear backpacks," he said. "She spent a couple of weeks just going around looking... to the point where we were just like, 'yeah, we'll just order some online.'”

District officials say they plan to distribute free clear backpacks to students who need them before the start of the new school year.

Backpacks that are not compliant will be confiscated and kept in school offices, where a parent or guardian can pick them up.

Got a tip? Email Solomon Wilson at swilson@kera.org. You can follow Solomon on Twitter @SolomonSeesIt.

Solomon Wilson is KERA's Marjorie Welch Fitts Louis Fellow. He focuses on covering racial equity, women’s rights, socioeconomic disparities and other evolving issues of social justice in our community.