What Not To Wear? Enforcing School Dress Codes Not As Easy As ABC
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- What not to wear to school?
The question seems to throw educators, parents and kids into a quandary every year as fashions, values and tastes constantly change.
As recently as the 70s, girls were not allowed to wear pants in school and, in some cases, risked suspension if they were caught wearing a pair of shorts under their dresses. Fast-forward to 2016 and pants on girls are okay, but sagging pants on a boy could land him in the principal's office.
Uniforms haven't solved the problem with so many schools opting out. The dress code in San Francisco Unified's Student Handbook tries to allow for individual expression but with certain caveats. Clothing and hairdos are "individual and personal," except when they are "extreme" and "cause distraction" or are "unsafe." The laundry list of inappropriate clothing includes halters, tube tops, gangster styles, bathing suits and cut offs. Even with all these specifics, enforcement requires a good dose of judgement and interpretation. For many, it's downright stressful.
School district officials in Portland, Oregon want to eliminate that stress. After months of meetings with parents, administrators, teachers, focus groups and students they have rewritten a dress code that may go down as the simplest set of guidelines ever. The ultimate goal is to eliminate the enforcement stress for everyone involved.
In their report, the complaints over the current rules include the loss of instruction time for teachers to enforce the policies, and the disproportionate number of female students sent home over violations that may be as innocent as the width of a spaghetti strap.
"If a girl's shirt shows an inch or two of her belly, especially when she reaches her hands up, who cares?" one instructor says.
Teachers can put away their rulers under Portland's proposed code.
It simply states that certain body parts – genitals, buttocks and nipples -- must be covered by ALL students with opaque fabric. Students must wear a shirt, a "bottom" (i.e. pants) and shoes. Clothes that promote hate speech, violence, pornography, drugs, alcohol and tobacco are still banned.
Basically that's it. There is a short list of items allowed that includes PJs, hoodies and religious headwear in case anyone needs a reference.
Concerned citizens are invited to comment on the newly proposed guidelines until July 19 before it goes to the school board for a vote and final approval.
It's uncertain whether other districts around the country will follow suit. If Portland is successful, it could set a trend.
