This year, Howard School students are not allowed to have backpacks or wear hoodies. The new policies went into effect this fall, according to the school's website, but the reasons behind those policies remained unclear Friday.
"BACKPACKS and HOODIES are NOT allowed during the 2022-2023 school year," the site reads.
Howard is one of two Hamilton County public high schools that prohibit the use of backpacks during the day. The other is Tyner Academy. The policy states that all backpacks and belongings must be stored in lockers, but at Howard, students aren't allowed to use lockers either.
"For safety reasons, there is no locker use at The Howard School," the website states.
Lynesha Lake, whose two daughters attend Howard, said the locker policy has been in place for years, but she isn't sure exactly why.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reached out to district officials to inquire why The Howard School has these policies when other schools do not. Though officials said they would provide an emailed statement, as of Friday evening, officials said they were still gathering information.
"I can tell you that the no backpack and no hoodie policies were implemented at the start of the school year for a variety of reasons," communications officer Steve Doremus said in an email. "It is my understanding that student curriculum materials are accessed online. I will be glad to share additional information as I receive it."
Howard is the only high school with a total hoodie ban. Other schools prohibit students from putting on the hood but allow the garment to be worn.
Lake said because her daughters do most of their work from a Chromebook, they are less affected by the backpack policy.
"They are upset about not being able to wear hoodies to school," Lake said in a phone call. "They really like their hoodies, and sometimes, it's cold in the school."
(READ MORE: Howard program targets 'newcomer' students and seeks to help them transition)
Lake said students were allowed to have clear backpacks last school year. She said that now, both her daughters feel overly policed by administrators.
"They said they feel like it's not fair," Lake said."They don't understand why they can't carry backpacks and wear hoodies."
While most students work from Chromebooks, students who have notebooks and binders may have to carry them around throughout the day. Winter coats and other personal belongings also may have to be carried from class to class due to the no locker -- and now no backpack -- policy.
"We need more teachers and less policing of the kids," Lake said. "I understand that at Howard, there's a lot of kids at that school, and they get a bad rap, but I feel like them having more rules makes stuff worse."
Out of 79 schools, Howard has the fourth highest in-school suspension and expulsion rate: 16.6% and 18.1%, respectively.
On Sept. 20, a juvenile was arrested outside of the school after police found a gun inside the student's backpack. The student had never entered the building. In November 2018, a student with warrants out for his arrest was apprehended at the school and told the school resource officer he had a firearm in his backpack in his locker. He was charged, among other counts, with carrying a weapon on school property.
Contact Carmen Nesbitt at cnesbitt@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @carmen_nesbitt.