Some parents turn to bulletproof backpacks to protect their children at school

FILE PHOTO: Some parents are investing in bulletproof backpacks as they send their children back to school, upgrading from the traditional styles. (Wokandapix/Pixabay license: https://pixabay.com/en/service/terms/#usage)

Credit: Wokandapix/Pixabay

Credit: Wokandapix/Pixabay

FILE PHOTO: Some parents are investing in bulletproof backpacks as they send their children back to school, upgrading from the traditional styles. (Wokandapix/Pixabay license: https://pixabay.com/en/service/terms/#usage)

Another deadline is almost up to keep Florida schools safer. By Wednesday, every school board across the state must decide how many people they will train to be armed in schools.

Many parents are buying bulletproof backpacks for their children.

There has been a spike in sales since the Valentine's Day shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

>> Read more trending news

Sales have increased by as much as 300 percent since the shooting, a manufacturer said. He said parents are looking for additional ways to protect their children.

Massachusetts-based Bullet Blocker makes the protective inserts to put in school bags. It withstand bullets from most handguns and shotguns.

Parent Ty Hart said recent shootings have left her worried about her 3-year-old son MJ.

"It was scary just sending him to school or to day care, thinking that anything can happen," she said.

Hart said a bulletproof backpack is something she will consider as MJ grows older.

Bullet Blocker's bags range in price from $175 to $490.

"He'll be able to protect himself, like, hold it up in a defensive way if he hears bullets," Hart said. "I would be better than just standing there like a target."

Raphael Bueno, a father of three, said school districts should do more to protect schools from gunmen.

"A backpack maybe can help, but it's not the main thing," he said. "(The) main thing is security in school."

Earlier this year, state lawmakers mandated that all Florida schools have either a school resource officer or an armed guardian on campus by the beginning of the 2018 - 2019 school year.

"For every single dad, it's too hard," Bueno said. "Every single dad sees what happens in our schools. That's sad, really sad."

Bullet Blocker's owner said he has see a spike in sales whenever there is a major act of violence -- not only shootings -- that gets national attention.