![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ClearMeshBackpacks_SchoolSuppliesPolicy_SecuritySafety_PrivacyPolicies_BackToSchool11_07.30.2026_Amb.webp\"){kind=spacer}
Pre-K student Brandi-Nycole Johnson, 4, receives assistance putting on a mesh backpack at a back-to-school event at Harlandale ISD on July 30, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\nSome families in San Antonio may need to add new backpacks to their shopping lists as they gear up for a new school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harlandale Independent School District recently adopted a new policy, requiring that all students use clear or mesh backpacks for the 2026-27 school year, which starts Aug. 12.\u00a0It\u2019s the first year the district of roughly 11,500 students has done so. <\/p>\n
While some parents feel like the new policy is inconvenient, they say it makes them feel safer when sending their kids to school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s already hard to buy all the school supplies and stuff,\u201d said Kayla Medina, who was on her way back to her car after picking up free school supplies and mesh backpacks from Harlandale\u2019s \u201cBack to School Bash\u201d on Thursday.<\/p>\n
But with three children enrolled at Harlandale ISD, Medina said it\u2019s also nice to know what\u2019s in students\u2019 backpacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s just been a lot more situations where kids are bringing things to school that they shouldn\u2019t,\u201d she said. \u201cNow you have the availability to actually just see what\u2019s in there, and not even for safety issues, but just for things that they shouldn\u2019t be taking to school, like toys and whatnot.\u201d<\/p>\n
District spokesperson Melinda Garza said the policy change requiring clear\/mesh bags, first communicated to parents in June, wasn\u2019t prompted by any specific incident or increase in threats.<\/p>\n
Pre-K student Brandi-Nycole Johnson, 4, receives assistance putting on a mesh backpack at a back-to-school event at Harlandale ISD on July 30, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
\u201cThe clear\/mesh backpack policy is one proactive measure that allows for quicker visual inspections while minimizing disruption to the school day,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blanca Diaz is a parent of four students enrolled at Harlandale ISD, three of them girls. While Diaz doesn\u2019t mind the clear bag policy, she is concerned about the privacy of girls and teenagers going through puberty and menstruation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI always tell my kids, put it in a makeup bag. Like, they can\u2019t tell you nothing there,\u201d she said, in reference to menstrual hygiene products.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Harlandale ISD\u2019s backpack policy<\/a>, students are allowed to carry small clutches 8.5 inches by 5.5 inches that don\u2019t have to be clear.\u00a0<\/p>\n Who else has clear backpack policies?<\/p>\n Clear\/mesh bag policies grew popular across Texas after the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, where 19 students and two teachers were shot and killed, but few districts in San Antonio adopted districtwide policies after the tragedy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Southside ISD adopted a clear\/mesh bag policy in 2022, which is still in place. South San Antonio ISD adopted a similar rule for the 2025-26 school year, according to the most recent available student handbook<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n North East ISD used to require clear or mesh backpacks for all middle and high school students, a policy the district revoked in 2021 after families complained about the bags\u2019 durability.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other districts let individual schools implement their own policies. At San Antonio ISD, for example, Jefferson High School <\/a>and Lanier High School<\/a> require clear or mesh backpacks for the school day.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some districts only implement policies toward the end of the school year, banning bags completely for the last few days or weeks of classes, but those policies could soon be used less.\u00a0<\/p>\n Southwest ISD used to ban bags for students<\/a> at the end of the school year, citing a typical increase in \u201cfake social media threats\u201d as the school year winds down.\u00a0<\/p>\n But SWISD didn\u2019t implement this policy for the end of the 2025-26 school year because of the state\u2019s new ban on cellphones<\/a> in the classroom, according to district spokesperson Jennifer Collier.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most districts also have clear bag policies for athletic and extracurricular events in stadiums.\u00a0<\/p>\n Do clear backpack policies work?<\/p>\n While clear bag policies might make communities feel safer, the research on how effective they are at actually preventing violence is mixed, said Jeff Temple a violence prevention researcher, professor and psychologist at UTHealth Houston.<\/p>\n In the wake of the 2018 Sante Fe High School shooting in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Temple to sit on a school safety committee. He is also part of a National Academy of Sciences committee that looked into the effectiveness of school shooting preparation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe really have little research that clear backpack policies reduce violence or prevent shootings,\u201d Temple told the San Antonio Report. The same is true for other visible security measures, like metal detectors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does tend to make people feel safer, which can be good,\u201d Temple said. \u201cBut it can lull people into a sense of safety and then not be as alarmed as maybe they should be.\u201d<\/p>\n Acts of school violence are never explained by a single factor, Temple said, but some of the clearest warning signs include prior threats made by potential perpetrators, people who socially isolate themselves, having access to firearms, and being prior victims of violence or having a grievance with a school or community.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Temple\u2019s research, the best way to prevent school violence is building healthy school climates instead of only relying on physical security measures or mental health services.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHaving access to behavioral health services is certainly important,\u201d Temple said. \u201cBut also (important) is improving the reporting system so students feel comfortable speaking up and having trusted adults that people can go to, and having some school connectedness.\u201d<\/p>\n All school districts in San Antonio have anonymous tiplines where students, staff and community members can quickly alert local police departments and district administrators of safety concerns they have.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ClearMeshBackpacks_SchoolSuppliesPolicy_SecuritySafety_PrivacyPolicies_BackToSchool06_07.30.2026_Amb.webp\"){kind=spacer}
The policy-compliant mesh and clear backpacks distributed at a back-to-school event at Harlandale ISD also came equipped with school supply kits inside. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ClearMeshBackpacks_SchoolSuppliesPolicy_SecuritySafety_PrivacyPolicies_BackToSchool08_07.30.2026_Amb.webp\"){kind=spacer}
School district representatives helped distribute policy-complaint mesh and clear backpacks to students and families at a back-to-school event at Harlandale ISD on July 30, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n