Armored accessories like backpack inserts and clipboards have been hot sellers with students heading back to school for the fall. Steve Jurak of the San Diego firm Mighty Mojo told NBC News his company's $149.95 backpack insert can stop a bullet from a .44 Magnum fired at 15 feet. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, meanwhile, has spent $60,000 to buy 200 bulletproof whiteboards from a military vendor. A college spokesman told NBC they "understand it’s not the panacea, but it’s a tool in the toolbox of security." Safety consultants say such products are well intentioned and can give students and parents peace of mind. But they are unlikely to make much of a difference in the event of an actual shooting, and aren't worth the cost, experts say. "We could cut the death rate in half in our schools with things like good student supervision and better drill processes," said Michael Dorn, executive director of Safe Havens International, a non-profit that has conducted more than 5,000 school safety assessments.
