A revision to the handbooks at Shelbyville Middle School and Shelbyville High School will come as a big surprise to students and their families.

At Wednesday's monthly Shelbyville Central Schools board meeting, a revision to both handbooks stating students will not be permitted to carry book bags or backpacks from class to class during the 2021-2022 school year was approved. 

"This is something we've talked about for several years," said Shelbyville Superintendent Mary Harper in a phone interview Thursday morning. "About 5-6 years ago we banned (the backpacks) but parents put pressure on us to bring them back.

"It's a safety issue in two ways. The first is students shouldn't be bringing things into school ... not necessarily weapons but things like vaping items. These things are concealed in backpacks. And the second is injuries. We've had two teachers trip over (backpack) straps. One had to have knee surgery and I consider that teacher to be young and fit."

Book bags are not being banned in the schools. Students will have to keep them in their assigned lockers.

Fanny packs will be allowed as will nylon drawstring bags not much larger than the size of school-issued iPads.

The last time the school system attempted to ban backpacks in the classrooms, students were required to carry around more textbooks. Now, the curriculum is handled on iPads, which should lighten the load on students.

"We feel like this is a good time to do this," said Harper. "We did a survey of teachers and they told us there was an overwhelming safety hazard in the classroom."

While the policy is now set with board approval, Harper realizes enforcing the policy and retraining students how to manage their days will take time. Students are currently allowed four minutes to pass from class to class. That time frame will be monitored as students have to make extra trips to their lockers throughout the day.

"Years ago, kids kept everything in their lockers," said Harper. "At some time it became easier to carry backpacks. We are absolutely going to monitor this and not penalize students off the bat if they are late to class.

"With a change like this, we may have to make some adjustments." 

Assistant superintendent Kathleen Miltz said Wednesday night after the board meeting she expects families to receive news of the policy change in upcoming school newsletters. 

Jeff Brown photo

Shelbyville High School and Shelbyville Middle School students will not be permitted to carry book bags or backpacks from class to class during the 2021-2022 school year. Nylon drawstring bags will be allowed but cannot be much bigger than the standard-issued iPads for the school system.