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A Wake County middle school’s last-minute announcement that it’s banning students from bringing backpacks is drawing a backlash from some parents.
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East Garner Middle announced Thursday on Facebook that students should not bring a backpack because the school will provide them with a free binder bag this school year. Following confusion on the first day of classes Monday, the school announced it would phase in the change instead of making the ban immediate.
“We are going to at this time allow scholars to continue to bring their backpacks,” Sharon Fennell, East Garner’s principal, said in a video message Monday night to families. “But please know we will be working on the transition plan from backpacks to every scholar with binders.”
The video came after parent complaints about how the backpack ban was handled.
“This is probably the worst communication that I’ve ever seen,” Kimberly McCord, an East Garner parent, posted in a Facebook comment on Monday. “Went to your orientation last Thursday that was in the middle of the day and no one even mentioned that backpacks weren’t allowed..”
East Garner Middle is believed to be the only school in the district that is banning students from bringing bookbags to class, according to Michael Hyland, a Wake County schools spokesperson. The school district does ban backpacks at high school athletic events, requiring spectators to bring clear bags.
Nationally, some schools have required clear backpacks or binder bags instead of regular backpacks for safety reasons. A binder bag is smaller than a backpack and meant to allow students to carry a few items such as binders and their Chromebook.
In 2022, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bought 46,000 clear backpacks for use in high schools. But CMS wound up auctioning them off at a loss when they found cancer warnings on the backpacks, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
Safety was cited for switching to binder bags at East Garner in both last week’s Facebook post and multiple times in Fennell’s video message.
“Please do not bring a backpack,” the school said in its Thursday Facebook post. “Thank you for helping us keep our campus safe, organized and ready to learn!”
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When the first day of school arrived Monday, some students tried to bring their backpacks. Other students left their backpacks at home only to find that the binder bags hadn’t arrived yet.
“I want to apologize for any confusion about our backpack policy expectations,” Fennell said.
Fennell said the confusion was understandable given how a school flyer only said it was strongly encouraged not to bring backpacks,
In the meantime, Fennell said students are being given temporary binders to hold their items until the bags with straps arrive. She said they’re hoping the bags will arrive soon.
In addition, Fennell said students will be provided with a cinch sack to carry personal items such as medications.
Fennell said they will now transition into the backpack ban over the next few weeks. She urged parents to hold off on buying backpacks.
“We know this is not as convenient as some of you would like for it to be,” Fennell said. “But we are going to make sure that we are compromising, being that we see how it could have been a bit confusing.
“So families know that our goal is to make sure that safety is always the forefront of every decision that we make here at East Garner.”
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This story was originally published August 25, 2026 at 12:31 PM.