The school is giving each student one free backpack. The district's goal is to deter students from bringing weapons on campus.

FLORISSANT, Mo. — For Bre Simmons, a new backpack is a back-to-school tradition.

“This year, I was hoping to get a new one,” said Simmon’s, who will be starting 8th grade next week.

But Bre will have no choice. Her school district, Ferguson-Florissant, is giving her a clear backpack.

“There are so many ways to hide things in there,” Simmons said.



Bre’s mom Jill shares the concern.

“I don't know how effective they're going to be,” Jill Simmons said. “There are so many kids. You're not going to catch everything.”

The school district said the goal is to deter students from bringing weapons.

“We had situations last year where we found that students had guns in bookbags,” said Kevin Hampton, Ferguson-Florissant Director of Communications. “We didn't want to take that chance.”

The district will give each middle- and high-school student one backpack for free. Students will also receive a small, opaque pouch for personal or private items.

The backpacks will be distributed at the “Meet the Teacher” nights next week, before school starts on August 15. If the backpacks are damaged or break, parents can purchase new ones from the district for $10.

The backpacks are just one piece of the new safety measures the district is implementing this school year. The district is adding more school resource officers to its campuses.

McCluer and McCluer North will have four full-time school resource officers; last year the schools had one officer. Each middle school campus will also have one full-time school resource officer. Also, each elementary school will have one security guard.

“Our hope is that they'll build relationships outside the schools, so our students know what it takes to be good citizens, good communicators with law enforcement,” Hampton said.

The district is also re-vamping its discipline procedures.

“Rather than being focused on discipline and consequences, we are focused on sharing the expectations we have with students,” Hampton said. “We know we'll rise to meet those expectations.”