Dress Code Information

Through the dress code, we seek to prepare students for the expectations of the work and academic worlds beyond high school while fostering a welcoming school climate that leads to meaningful learning.  We believe the student and their parent/guardian hold the primary responsibility in determining the student’s personal attire, hairstyle, jewelry, and personal items. Schools are responsible for ensuring that student attire, hairstyle, jewelry, and personal items do not interfere with the health or safety of any student and do not contribute to a hostile or intimidating environment for any student. 

Core Values: In relation to student dress, the district’s core values are the following: 

• Students should be able to dress and style their hair for school in a manner that expresses their individuality without fear of unnecessary discipline or body shaming.
• Dress code enforcement will not create disparities, nor will it be more strictly enforced against students because of racial identity, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, gender nonconformity, sexual orientation, cultural or religious/spiritual identity, household income, body size/type, or body maturity.
• Each individual is responsible for managing their own personal feelings, assumptions, and/or judgments of other people’s appearances.

Students must wear: 

• Top (shirt, sweater, sweatshirt, tank top, etc.);  Bottom (pants, shorts, skirt, dress, etc.) and footwear.  
• Clothes must be worn in a way such that the genitals, buttocks, and nipples are fully covered with opaque (i.e., not able to see through) fabric. 
• Additional student attire requirements when necessary to ensure safety in certain academic settings (e.g, physical activity, science or CTE courses) are permitted.  Additionally, this allows for reasonable variation in required student attire for participation in activities such as swimming. 

Students may not wear: 

• Clothing, jewelry, or personal items that:  Are pornographic, contain threats, or that promote illegal or violent conduct such as the unlawful use of weapons, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or drug paraphernalia;  Demonstrate hate group association/affiliation and/or use hate speech targeting groups based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, or other protected groups; (e.g. confederate flags, swastika, etc)
• Head covering/hats/hoods
• Demonstrate gang association/affiliation. 
• Backpacks

Attire worn in observance of a student’s culture and/or religion is not subject to this policy. 

Enforcement: 

Principals are required to ensure all staff members are aware of and understand the guidelines of this policy. Staff members will use reasonable efforts to avoid dress-coding students in front of other students. Students shall not be removed from class as a consequence of wearing attire in violation of the dress code unless the attire creates a substantial disruption to the educational environment, poses a hazard to the health or safety of others, or factors into a student behavior rule violation such as malicious harassment or the prohibition on harassment, intimidation, and bullying. Further, no student shall be referred to as “a distraction” due to their appearance or attire. Typical consequences for a violation of the dress code include the directive to cover, change, or remove the non-complying attire and parent/guardian contact or conference.  The principal or their designee should notify a student’s parent/guardian of the school’s response to violations of the student dress code. The administration reserves the right to determine appropriate school attire.