Dress code is better but some have taken it too far
October 10, 2019
I’ve attended an Austin Independent School District school my entire educational career. I never thought I would see the school district update its dress code.
As early as the sixth grade I remember thinking there were problems with the dress code. I thought It was really lame. We couldn’t even wear shoes that were a solid color like red or blue or we could be accused of wearing something gang-related.
The dress code, which was last updated in 2007, was changed in large part – due to a group called Austin Families for Common Sense School Dress Code who collected over 600 signatures requesting the dress code be made more inclusive and less discriminatory towards specific races, genders, “or any aspect of an individual’s identity.”
On June 17, AISD School administrators approved and adopted the new dress code. In a press release dated June 25, Director of Health Services Tracy Spinner said: “Our goal is to have AISD policies contribute to safe and inclusive learning environments, including being able to dress in a manner that is comfortable so all students can focus on learning.”
The new dress code states: “Clothes must be worn in a way such that abdomen, genitals, buttocks, breasts, and nipples are fully covered with opaque fabric.”
Gone are the days that students have to wear a jacket to cover a shirt.
This is something that will make it easier to concentrate on studying instead of worrying about being in violation for wearing a simple spaghetti strap shirt.
The updated dress code may have a few issues, though. Some students purposefully dressed in shirts where their stomachs show, not because it’s comfortable, but just to be outrageous and break the dress code to get attention.
Girls need to respect their bodies and how they come dressed to school and not in a way that all students have to see someone’s butt hanging out of their shorts.
— Victoria Garza
Coming into High School my friends sometimes had very uncomfortable conversations with teachers who thought their shorts or tops were in violation of dress code.
Likewise, Some received In-School Suspension (ISS) for the day and had to miss their classes just because they wore hats or hoodies in class.
Assistant Principal Susan Thames said she understands that the motivation behind the change to the dress code was to adapt to the times so students feel more accepted and respected. However, she said she is concerned that not all students are showing respect for themselves with their clothing choices with the newly lenient rules.
She said she thinks it is important that students don’t get so comfortable that they feel like the things that they may wear in a school setting are going to be acceptable in a job interview or a job.
I feel that the new dress code is fair and, for the first time since I’ve entered school, doesn’t hold a double standard due to gender, race or sexuality.
I believe that girls need to respect their bodies and how they come dressed to school and not in a way that all students have to see someone’s butt hanging out of their shorts.
