Decatur Township students to use clear backpacks. Here's why

Decatur Township students will be required to carry clear backpacks next school year in an effort to improve school safety, Decatur's superintendent said.

The Decatur Township school board voted Tuesday night to approve the policy that Superintendent Matthew Prusiecki says aims to stop students from bringing in prohibited items, such as guns, to school.The move comes in the wake of multiple recent incidents where students were discovered with guns in Decatur Township schools.

“We're trying to just eliminate those variables so that students are bringing in what they should be bringing into school and not be tempted to bring in other things,” Prusiecki told IndyStar.

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In January, students at Decatur Middle School were found to have brought a gun to school and in December Decatur Central High School was placed on a soft lockdown after a gun was discovered on campus, WRTV reported.

Prusiecki said those incidents played some part in the board's decision to enact this new policy but the move was also part of the district’s ongoing conversation about how to increase school safety.

The board voted 4-1 to approve the policy with board member Estella Vandeventer casting the only vote against it.

The board will vote on a more detailed policy sometime in the coming months as the district works out more details, including whether the district will provide the backpacks to families.

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Prusiecki said they wanted to vote on this initial policy now so they can start planning with community partners who help provide backpacks to students. The intent is to keep this policy in place for future school years as well, he said.

Decatur next year will be the only school district in Marion County with clear backpacks but some individual Indianapolis schools already require clear backpacks like both Herron High Schools. Schools in other states such as New Jersey and Michigan have implemented similar policies.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy. 

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