Well, it's certainly not commonplace where I live. I can't imagine what the attitude of distrust and fear is doing to children. Very sad.
Miranda
wow, though, seriously, is this a big problem? Sorry if this is naive but I'm in the UK and it is mind blowing to me that a little kids school would need to ask the kids to bring stuff in in clear bags...I grew up in inner city london, and my parents still live there (and my mum teaches in a post-11 school in a high-crime area) and we have NOTHING like this. Weapons being brought to school? Elementary school? Really?
I'd say people are generally more fearful nowadays, but certainly for the UK, if you look at the statistics that's not based on actual increased risk, actually we are safer than we have ever been. I have to be completely honest, I think the media has a lot to answer for. And one of my German friends laughs at how fearful and overprotective we are in the UK of our kids...
wow, though, seriously, is this a big problem? Sorry if this is naive but I'm in the UK and it is mind blowing to me that a little kids school would need to ask the kids to bring stuff in in clear bags...I grew up in inner city london, and my parents still live there (and my mum teaches in a post-11 school in a high-crime area) and we have NOTHING like this. Weapons being brought to school? Elementary school? Really?
I'd say people are generally more fearful nowadays, but certainly for the UK, if you look at the statistics that's not based on actual increased risk, actually we are safer than we have ever been. I have to be completely honest, I think the media has a lot to answer for. And one of my German friends laughs at how fearful and overprotective we are in the UK of our kids...
It's absolutely media driven in the U.S. If you look at the statistics, child abduction in the U.S. has actually gone down but media stories of abduction have increased by hundreds of percents. It makes it FEEL like children are snatched left and right but it's simply not the case. Statistically, children are far safer in school than they are riding in the car to get there. It's the media that pushes the idea that our kids are at risk and we gobble it up. There are so many ironies in our society.... parents who complain about car seats when we KNOW that kids are at high risk for injury and freak out when they want to walk a block to the store for a soda.
I don't think this response is so wide spread or else there would be far more people chiming in with ideas for where they got such backpacks. Seems most people are surprised by it. Even if states have zero tolerance rules on the books, it's still very select schools that are going to these extremes.
Again, must be regional. I live in the 7th or 8th largest city in the U.S.A and I've never seen it. My eldest attended an inner city high school for a couple years in the 3rd largest school district in the country. Again, no such requirements that I ever saw. I've never heard of employees having to carry PVC purses either. The schools my kids have been in use different methods that seem to work quite well.
The more people are treated as untrustworthy, the more untrustworthy they become. When we tell our children, you are too violent to be trusted, that's what they will grow-up to be. Better to get them and their communities invested in a positive environment.
Agreed. I live in the largest city in the US and I have never--literally, never--seen a child with a clear backpack.
I haven't either, though, I did a news search and apparently some schools in my area did require clear backpacks, at least at some point. If I were to guess, I imagine it's something schools try because it's thought to be an easy solution to a complicated problem. I would be very, very surprised if implementing clear backpacks did anything to reduce weapons, drugs or theft from schools. I mean, presumably kids are allowed to store their PE clothes or sweatshirts in their clear backpacks, right? Even books could conceal most things mpthat a child wishes to hide. It's just silly, IMO. And, I agree that the negative consequences of this type of policy are rather huge. Imagine a parent of a 5 year old explaining why she/he needs a clear backpack. 
I think this is school districts with very limited resources feeling like they have to do something. Sometimes, maybe this is all they can manage. I guess if they felt they needed to do this for some schools, I'd prefer they did it for all -- the implications of some schools in the district needing this and others not are terrible.
On a positive note -- as a parent, I can really see the advantages of a clear backpack. I'd be great to see that apple rotting in the bottom of the bag and imagine the hours saved searching for that sweatshirt, water bottle, permission slip. Maybe I'll get DC a mesh bag. 
OP, I'm glad you found a mesh bag and a hope your LO has a wonderful first week of school!!
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