Bernalillo Public Schools reviews clear backpack policy, weighs new safety measures

Bernalillo Public Schools is using the end of the school year to take a hard look at its first full year under a clear backpack policy, asking whether the change has done more than reassure families. The district rolled out the requirement in August 2025 for students in grades 4 through 12, and it now covers a system of 9 campuses serving about 2,850 students in Bernalillo County.

District leaders have said from the start that the backpacks were never meant to stand alone. Thomas Maes Jr., the district’s director of safety and security, described the rollout as part of a layered approach that also includes security cameras and locked entrances. Superintendent Matt Montaño said the point was to improve safety while also helping students and parents feel more secure on campus. The district even provided clear backpacks for all students in grades 4 through 12, reducing the cost burden on families.

The year-one review is now broadening beyond backpacks. Bernalillo Public Schools is looking at controlled access points, fencing, repeated safety drills, communication systems and possible weapon detection technology for next school year. Montaño also said the district is testing weapon detection systems and considering cybersecurity improvements, a sign that safety planning has moved well past physical barriers alone.

The district’s own discipline picture shows why officials are keeping the focus on everyday enforcement as well as worst-case scenarios. Montaño said vaping was the biggest day-to-day discipline issue during the year, even as the district continued to prepare for more serious threats. Officials have also said Bernalillo schools have armed security on all but two campuses, part of a larger strategy to respond if an active shooter threat ever emerged.

The evidence district leaders point to is more concrete than perception alone. In a camera-system review, officials said they did not see guns on campus, but they did find vapes and knives, which helps explain why safety planning now mixes discipline, access control and emergency readiness. Bernalillo’s approach also reflects a broader policy shift in New Mexico, where the Public Education Department says Senate Bill 11, the Anti-Distraction Policy in Schools, took effect June 20, 2025, requiring districts and charter schools to adopt wireless communication device policies.

The discussion is unfolding as nearby Albuquerque Public Schools has also moved toward clear-backpack policies at some schools. In Bernalillo, the question before fall is no longer whether backpacks matter, but what combination of tools, from cameras to communication apps like Rave Panic Button, will give families the strongest protection without making daily school life harder than it has to be.