Newton Municipal Changing Policy

Now two weeks after the shooting incident involving two 1st grade students ended with one of the students injured and in the hospital. Newton Municipal school district has voted to only allow clear backpacks inside the school. Before this vote, students were allowed to have mesh backpacks. The new policy was voted on in last night’s school board meeting

The shooting incident took place September 30,2021 after a child brought a gun to school inside their backpack. The gun later discharged and shot another child in the leg. That child is now at home and recovering.

Reports state that the child who brought the gun to school will not be legally charged.

During the school board meeting, several policies were discussed, many of them targeted towards school safety.

Along with the clear bookbag policy, a discussion of metal detectors and metal detector wands being placed on campuses was also addressed.

A resident of Newton believes the steps that the district is taking are positive and believes that the new policies will aid in keeping students safe.

“I think it’s a good idea considering what’s happening lately in the school” stated Newton resident. “All of these are just acts in keeping our children safe, so I totally agree with it.”

We did reach out to the district for a comment on these new policies. They did not reply.