The Williamson County School Board is now ready to vote on the district’s new dress code next week.
During a Thursday night work session, the board worked out the provisions of the new dress code.
Here are the provisions:
• Tops of shoulders must have a minimum of a 2-inch strap for students in grades 6-12 and a minimum of 1-inch strap for students in grades K-5 unless otherwise covered by an opaque top garment.
• Skin and undergarments must be covered with opaque clothing from the midriff to mid-thigh
• All pants, shorts and skirts must be held at the waist
• Leggings, jeggings, and other compression-style garments may be worn so long as an opaque top garment covers the buttocks and genitalia
• Hats may be worn in buildings with the permission of building administration
• Any type of clothing, apparel or accessory, including that which denotes such students’ membership in or affiliation with any gang associated with criminal activities is not permitted
The policy starts with asking students to wear clothes respecting themselves. Rules for the updated policy – which have been made since 1999 – went through three task forces. Students, administrators and parents all received a say in what they would like to see happen.
Overall, Superintendent Mike Looney said he wanted the learning environment to stay distraction free in regard to clothing. But he said as they were narrowing down what’s in and what’s out, some administrators had concerns.
“It’s two issues,” he said. “One is cleavage. The second one is tank tops, which are currently allowed. What has presented itself is if tank tops are allowed, and it’s a low cut. You could see skin.”
District 10 Board Member Beth Burgos also said she wouldn’t mind seeing a provision that further addressed the issue of cleavage.
“It’s one of the main distractions,” she said. “We need to be careful of our young men. I think it’s a legitimate concern to a learning environment. But I think if you ask, there needs to be a sense of coverage and modesty for our young men.”
Board members also wondered about implementation. Looney said it was also a concern for principals. Currently, schools are across the board with implementation. Some schools have some administrators who regularly police the dress code. Some even go as far to making students get on their knees to measure the lengths of dresses or shirts. The current rule states that is no skin can be showing six inches above the knee. And there are some schools across the district that take a more lax approach.
“Our intent is to not humiliate students,” Looney said.
District 12’s KC Haugh said he has two daughters currently enrolled in the system. He said what seems to cause the most distract for them has more to do with the dress code enforcement versus the violations themselves.
“It sounds like a distraction itself and degrading at worse,” he said.
The Williamson County School Board will vote on the measure Tuesday night at its January meeting. The meeting has been moved from its normal Monday time because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Emily West covers Franklin, education and the state legislature for the Franklin Home Page. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter via @emwest22.
