Complex sentence: Some of the students misunderstood the announcement as all purses were to be banned, like backpacks, from use between classes, and rumors quickly began spreading that girls would only be allowed to carry purses during their menstrual periods.
Split into simpler sentences: Some of the students misunderstood the announcement as all purses were to be banned, like backpacks, from use between classes. Rumors quickly began spreading that girls would only be allowed to carry purses during their menstrual periods.