Horry County Schools’ clear backpack requirement leaves some parents unhappy

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Starting this school year, Horry County Schools will require all backpacks carried by students to be clear in an attempt to keep prohibited items such as weapons from being brought into buildings.

The district recently provided parents with specific features of the new police. Students will not permitted to carry mesh backpacks, backpacks with padded backs or stripes, or colored, transparent backpacks.

Clear totes, purses and plastic bags, and clear backpacks with mesh side pockets or a front pocket mesh organizer, colored straps, corner leather reinforcements and small logos will be acceptable, according to the district’s new policy.

Students will also allowed to carry non-clear athletic bags and instrument cases; a small, nonclear pouch to hold personal items, like cell phones, money and hygiene products; nonclear lunchboxes; and necessary medical equipment. However, all nonclear bags will have to be visible or carried, and they will be subject to a search.

One parent said he understands the need for bag searches but thinks bags should be searched in private settings to protect students’ privacy.

“They’re kids,” Steve Vollgraff said. “They want their privacy. You know, they’re also girls. They carry stuff that boys don’t carry. They don’t like everybody knowing that business, either.”

The district is also implementing another new security feature this fall, adding screening devices in all its schools. The district unanimously voted in March to install “Open Gate” devices, which use artificial intelligence to detect weapons.

In August, all of the county’s middle schools, high schools and academies will have two of the devices. All elementary schools will have one.

The district said it will require all community members to pass through the devices when entering a building.

Some parents like Vollgraff think the accuracy of the metal detectors should eliminate the need for their children to have a clear backpack.

“If they worked, they could just walk their bag through them, and then they wouldn’t need to search their bag or have a clear backpack,” Vollgraff said, adding that he is concerned that screening devices and bag searches will only happen at the start of the school day.

“Once the school day is over, then the doors are wide open,” he said. “People are going out of there. They’re staying late for sports. They’re walking in and out with their bags, and nobody’s checking them.”

Vollgraff and other Horry County parents also worry about other districtwide issues like bullying as the new school year nears. He said he thinks bullying and potential school violence are connected and that the district should intervene at all stages of student conflict.

“You know, they wonder why these kids snap,” he said. “They don’t do anything when the kids get picked on, and one day, he snaps.”

District officials said they take reports of bullying and other school-safety concerns very seriously.

In March, the district implemented a reporting icon on every student’s school-issued device that allows them to report bullying, threats, harassment and other problems to district officials. The reports can be made by email, phone, or through an online form.

Editor’s note: If your children need clear backpacks or other school supplies, visit News13’s Back to School Donation Drive at the Walmart in Surfside Beach. The donation drive will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 2. All donations will benefit Help4Kids and Backpack Buddies .

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Skylar Musick is a multimedia journalist at News13. Skylar is originally from Long Island, New York. She joined the News13 team in June 2024 after graduating from Villanova University in May 2024. Follow Skylar on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook , or Instagram , and read more of her work here .

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