By Janice Yohannan
While Nyack Schools embrace the importance of self-expression and gender equality, the official dress code has for years failed to do so. However, that may be coming to an end. On January 24, Nyack Schools administrators proposed an updated dress policy to the Board of Education (BOE), outlining their new and generally more relaxed recommendations that will be more formally reviewed at the next BOE meeting. This is a pivotal move to tackle the controversy regarding the gender bias within what is written; with the new recommendations, the dress code will more accurately align with what is enforced at the high school and change what is considered acceptable attire in the middle school.
The Formation of the Committee
While Ms. Saieva (Principal, HS), Ms. Pichardo (Assistant Principal, HS), and Mr. Dreves (Principal, Upper Nyack Elementary) gave the presentation, the committee comprises 15 administrative, teacher, student, and parent volunteers in total. According to Ms. Saieva, Dr. Montesano approached her and Mr. Johnson (Principal, NMS) to chair the committee, and he met with them at the start to explain the history of the dress code and describe the purpose of this project. The two students that joined are Melany Stone and Student Body President Amber McDonald. McDonald, who is also the student representative for the Board of Education, said, “I was able to contribute the perspective of a student and I’m grateful that I was involved in the process and given a small insight to what the process of ‘policy making’ is like.” McDonald, along with the rest of the committee, reviewed sources and literature, referred to Nyack’s Code of Conduct and New York State School Board Association (NYSSBA) suggestions to create a suggested dress code policy.
The Issues with the Current Policy
For years, the dress code has been a point of contention in the district. Prohibiting clothes with “materials which reveal cleavage” or that do “not completely cover the breasts and/or stomach, midriff” (Code of Conduct 5.300.20), the dress code has been criticized for specifically targeting female students. While the high school does not enforce the more controversial parts of the current policy, female students in the middle school are often limited by it. Talia Reiss, a senior at Nyack High School, reflected on her time in middle school under the dress code: “I was often dress-coded for wearing spaghetti straps or tops that didn’t cover my midriff. I remember feeling a lot of shame at first, but at a certain point, I realized that the dress code was incredibly unfair and that spending my school day worrying about my clothing was distracting me from the real purpose of school: to learn. When women are disproportionately disciplined because of unfair dress codes, we are put at an academic disadvantage compared to male classmates. After I realized this, being dress-coded almost became a form of protest for me.”
Administrators also recognize the problems regarding gender bias with this policy. “The current dress code appears to be dated. In addition, The Board of Education is interested in adopting a policy which is gender neutral,” Ms. Saieva said. Leaders in the district have been aware of this issue, and board members are looking forward to making adjustments to the rules that have stayed in place for years.
The New Suggestions
The recommendations for the dress code are as follows:
Be unlikely to injure people or damage property and not substantially disrupt or materially interfere with the educational process.
Private areas must remain covered with outer clothing.
Include footwear at all times. Footwear that is a safety hazard will not be allowed.
Not include headgear or sunglasses, except for religious reasons or documented medical reasons.
Not include items that are vulgar, obscene, libelous, or that denigrate, harass or discriminate against others on account of race, color, weight, religion, religious practice, disability, creed, national origin, ethnic group, gender, sex, sexual orientation or disability.
Not promote and/or endorse the use of alcohol, tobacco, or controlled substances or illegal drugs and/or encourage other illegal or violent activities.
While some members raised their concerns about the ambiguity in wording, there was little to no immediate resistance to these new suggestions. Dr. Montesano also clarified that teachers and faculty are held to a separate standard than students, and are not represented by the newly drafted code.
What is Next for the Student Dress Code
For the next board meeting on February 1, the BOE will review the verbiage of the proposal before putting it into effect. "The Board of Education will review and seriously consider the committee's suggestions," said Saieva. "As the process continues, the members of the Board of Education will wordsmith the suggested dress code, but [she remains] hopeful there will be no drastic changes.” Ms. Saieva argued at the Jan. 24 meeting that the proposed dress code is truer to what is practiced at Nyack High School, but changes are likely to be made for current and future middle school students. A change in Nyack’s Code of Conduct represents our administration's recognition of our community's value in inclusivity and equity.