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Jun 08, 2023

Grand Rapids elementary school bans backpacks after student brings gun

Grand Rapids Public Schools is the second Michigan district in less than a month

Grand Rapids Public Schools is the second Michigan district in less than a month to ban backpacks from schools after district administrators discovered a loaded gun in a third grader's backpack.

Grand Rapids joins Flint Community Schools, which drew national headlines in late April when the district announced a backpack ban on May 1. Weapons have been confiscated from students four times this school year in Grand Rapids, according to a news release from the district. In three out of four times, the weapon was found in a backpack.

"I am more than frustrated that a decision like this is necessary, but we must put safety first and that's what this decision is about," Superintendent Leadriane Roby said. "This is just one step in an ongoing conversation about how we can best protect our children in our rapidly changing world."

School staff confiscated the gun from a Stocking Elementary School third grader on Wednesday after another student alerted staff that their schoolmate might have a gun. Grand Rapids Police took possession of the weapon. Guns were also confiscated from students this year twice at Burton Middle School and once at Cesar E. Chavez Elementary School.

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Flint Community Schools' backpack ban also came out of a concern for weapons, Superintendent Kevelin Jones said in a letter to parents.

"By banning backpacks altogether and adding an increased security presence across the district, we can better control what is being brought into our buildings," he wrote.

Districts for years have struggled over how to handle student bags in an age of school violence and mass shootings. Oxford Community Schools, following a November 2021 shooting that left four students dead, instituted a clear backpack policy. But a recent report into safety at the district noted some students were still spotted with opaque backpacks.

Some school districts have metal detectors and screen students daily as they enter the school. But studies have found that the student populations of schools with metal detectors are largely made up of students of color. And some students have said the presence of metal detectors makes them feel like criminals.

Contact Lily Altavena: [email protected].