Clear backpacks rule introduced in Texas schools in wake of Uvalde shooting

Children in Texas have been ordered to wear clear or mesh backpacks so they cannot conceal guns in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.

Clear bags have been introduced as a districtwide measure to allow school staff to check students’ bags for prohibited items. Under the diktat, they will be allowed to carry a small pouch no larger than 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches to conceal sensitive items including cash or feminine hygiene products.

One Texas school pupil took to Twitter to reveal the strict new rules, saying children risk being sent home if they do not adhere to them.

Every single door must be closed or locked during school hours as part of the new safety measures, the student revealed. Teenager Salvador Ramos was able to walk freely into Robb Elementary School armed with a semi-automatic weapon and open fire on a classroom full of children.

The incident in May is the second worst school shooting in US history and has led to calls from Democrats for tighter gun laws and mandatory background checks on new owners. Republicans, meanwhile, have placed an emphasis on America’s mental health crisis rather than its easy access to guns.

In other measures introduced in the wake of the attack, which left 19 children and two teachers dead, parents can no longer drop their children at the school gates in many districts.

They instead have to use designated drop-off points.

Schools in Austin have also introduced bullet-proof glass in their entrances and bullet-proof shields for students as part of new beefed-up security measures.

The district of Austin alone has spent around $4.5 million so far in security upgrades since May and brought in 33 public safety officers.

The Mothers Against Greg Abbott group released a new back-to-school advertisement in which a mother dresses her son in a bullet-proof helmet and body armour before he holds up a sign reading “First Day of School”.

The advert is the third released by the women-led campaign group Mothers Against Greg Abbott, in order to rally votes for his Democratic opponent Beto O’Rourke in the upcoming November election.