Universal Dress Code Policy

Our School Board is always looking for ways to ensure that every student in this district is afforded the most equitable and safe learning environment possible. To that end, the Board recently noticed some inconsistencies in our dress code and asked for a review of the policy for possible improvements.

District Equity Specialists, together with our Elementary and Secondary Learning teams, reviewed the policy and presented their findings to the Board in June. The team found several areas where positive changes could be made to the current policy.

One area the team found concerning was the lack of consistency regarding dress codes throughout the district. Equity Specialist Will Waverly spoke to the Board about why that lack of consistency could elementary school with the highest percentage of black and brown students, why are they the only ones with uniforms?” he said. “Either we have it for everyone, or we have it for no one.”

Based on their findings, the team recommended the board edit the policy to make it consistent for every student in the district.

So starting this fall, no schools will have required uniforms.

“Every school will have the same policy. There’s always that student that transfers from one school to the next, and there won’t be that challenge of trying to navigate what’s okay here that wasn’t where I was before,” said Director of Equity and Achievement Deb Carlman.

The team also added language to personal items.” But while district leaders want parents to have their say, school leaders also play a large role.

“It is the responsibility of schools to ensure that student attire, hairstyle, jewelry, and personal belongings do not pose a health or safety risk to any student and do not create a hostile or intimidating environment that disrupts learning for any student,” the new policy reads.

A number of common sense rules from the current policy will remain in the new policy, including a ban on clothes that display anything obscene or sexual, or anything with drug or alcohol related messages. As always, displays of threats or weapons and any sort of hate speech is also banned.

District administrators are now be inequitable to some of our students.

“Our two middle schools and our the current policy that says parents “hold the primary responsibility in determining the student’s personal attire, hairstyle, jewelry, and working with school principals to create a plan to implement the new policy this fall.