Step 1: Identify the problem(s)
The dress code policy is being inconsistently enforced.
While the largest issue is around headgear, there has been inconsistent enforcement on backpack policies and on clothing with alcohol or sexual references, and little to no enforcement on "shirts that are cropped to expose midriff or naval."
Specific issues in the dress code are:
-having to verify a person's religion for exemption
-headgear recently relating to do-rags and bonnets
-"revealing" and "distracting" only being associated with female attire
-phrasing like "sagging" being used to target students of color
"Color Consciousness and Color Blindness"
"By the 1980's, the ideology of color-blind justice sought to deny past and present skin-color discrimination. Color-blind discourse moderated overt racial imagery and comments and substituted the language of White-oriennted rights and equal opportunity" (Vavrus, 2015, p. 60).
The school must address the racist practices and unequal enforcement targeting students of color by using a color-conscious view and not a color-blind approach.
Student A:
On March 10, 2023, student A whose sex at birth as indicated on school documents is male is sitting in class with a gaiter face covering. Schoool documents state the student is white. This covering goes under the eye glasses and sits below the eye balls and stretches down to the neck and collar bone. The gaiter covers the face completely around the back of the head also covering the ears and back of head. The student is also wearing a black tulle skirt over black pants.
Is this "distracting?"
Student B:
On March 10, 2023, student B who self- identifies as a Hispanic cis-gender male sits in class with a black shirt that reads "Pabst Blue Ribbon" with some other verbage. The student is also wearing blue house slippers.
Is this "promoting products illegal for use by minors?"
Student C:
On March 10, 2023, student C who self- identifies as a cis-gender female walks down the hall. The student is a foreign exchange student from Spain attending the school for one school year. She is wearing blue jeans and a red shirt. The red shirt is tyed in the back and folded underneath. The shirt sits above her belly button exposing her naval and her hip bones.
Is this "expose[d] midriff or naval?"
Student D:
On March 10, 2023, student D who self- identifies as a white bisexual cis-gender male is wearing a black shirt and jeans. He has blonde straight hair past shoulder length and is wearing a solid black/grey beanie. The student recalls being seen by an administrator "at least three times" yesterday and not being asked to remove the hat. A teacher who is monitoring the cafeteria tells the student to remove the head covering.
"Is this caps, hats, hoods?"
Student E:
On March 10, 2023, student E who self-identifies as a cis-gender white male was at his locker and took out his black baseball cap. An administrator walked by wearing a baseball cap with a school logo. The student put his hat on his head but upon seeing the adminstrator took it off. He continued to carry the hat as he passed a white male teacher who consistently told him to remove the hat when the student is wearing it.
"Is this caps, hats, hoods?"
Step 2: Varying perspectives
Some teachers believe that allowing hats could lead to hats being worn in a certain way that could represent gang affiliations. Some teachers believe that it is a security issue if students need to be identified in an emergency situation. This side believes that if there are rules they should be constantly and consistently enforced by all adults.
Some teachers felt the policy is not a distraction and student's educational time should not be impeded. Some teachers felt the policy and debate around the policy is being unnecessarily prioritized over more important issues like state testing coming up, teachers focusing on their content, building relationships with students, and more.
"The Cycle of Socialization"
In instutions such as schools "We learn who gets preferential treatment and who gets picked on. We are exposed to rules, roles, and assumptions that are not fair to everyone" (Harro, 2000, p. 18).
Current verbiage targets non-dominant groups.
Why does a head covering have to have a "verified religion"? Has a Christian person ever been asked to prove their religion to a school?
Verbiage like "low slung," "sagging," and "head coverings" to include do-rags and bonnets target people who identify people of color.
The second bullet point targets women in the verbiage of distracting, revealing, and a long list of clothing often associated with women.
On March 10, 2023, Teacher A said, "It's never been a problem until this year" referring to the hat policy and why he felt there should not be a change to the hat policy.
On March 10, 2023 it was reported by Teacher B that a junior high student was sent to the office for having a shirt with exposed shoulders and cut outs and that the student was sent home.
Adult C who works in the school commented that he even prefers to wear a hat because he is balding, which implies he is feeling self conscious about his appearance just like students may feel.
Teacher D who identifies as a white cis-gender male discussed how he does not feel comfortable addressing female dress issues as a male teacher but that he would inform a female teacher to address the situation.
Step 3: Possible challenges and opportunities
Many teachers are reluctant to have a conversation at all about changing any elements of the dress code policy. They have the mindset that if it is a rule or law it is absolute and should not be open to change or discussion. These views are closed-minded and one of the largest challenges for building equity in a school. Some of these teachers arrive with their minds already made up and will not be self-reflective in acknowledging their own privilege or open to understanding different perspectives. Not only are some of their rationales perpetuating myths, but they are uneducated on culture, history, and even physical benefits of some of these hat/head coverings, such as the benefits to Black hair by using a do-rag.
However, this is an opportunity for the school to reflect on what is best for teens and whether they are willing to do what is right for today's students. Showing their willingness to be open-minded and consider student input, as well as cultural norms different from their own, will help create a more inclusive environment for today's students and help recruit future students.
"The unexamined Whiteness of teaching: how White teachers maintain and enact dominant racial ideologies"
"Ideological tools used by participants were beliefs to which they subscribed to protect their hegemonic stories...Tools, such as as 'It's out of my control' and 'I can't relate,' are claims that the participants made about their personal experiences or unwillingness to work with students of color or take an active anti-racist stance in the classrooms" (Picower, 2009, p. 206)
There are few to no adults of color at the school. There are no outlets for students of color to be heard and listened to. In addition, white dominance and phrases like those above reinforce white dominance and work against any efforts to make equitable progress in the school.
Step 4: Imagine equitable outcomes
An equitable outcome for the school's dress code would be to eliminate the hat/head covering rule all together. Students should not have to specify their medical condition, race, gender, or culture and get approval (from predominantly white teachers and administrators) for any head covering. Concerns about security and gang-affiliation can be easily addressed while not targeting any subordinate group such as by providing solid green headwear at no cost to students and making it available to all students, regardless of race.
"Restorative Justice and the School-to-Prison Pipeline: A Review of Existing Literature"
"The biases teachers may have toward students of different races can occur as soon as children interact with their first teacher. A research brief published by Yale University Child Study Center indicated that even during the preschool years, teachers are likely to have biases toward Black children" (Morgan, 2021, p. 159).
People have biases. Instead of claiming biases do not exist, school personnel should acknowledge the bias and work towards an equitable solution as outlined in the next steps.
Step 5: Brainstorm immediate-term responses
1. A group of students--including students of color--are invited to join a task force to address issues in the school.
a. Groups sets their norms and expectations
b. A safe space is created for varying viewpoints to be honestly expressed and conflicts addressed.
2. Teachers create a Diversity Equity Inclusion task force with a representative from administration.
a. Groups sets their norms and expectations
b. A safe space is created for varying viewpoints to be honestly expressed and conflicts addressed.
3. Both groups are tasked with examining the entire handbook for inequity within the rules and using their personal knowledge of the school to highlight issues in the enforcement of rules.
4. Groups brainstorm action plans to address the issues and provide a summary to administration to bring before the school staff and superintendent.
"Teachers, please learn our names?: racial microagressions and the K-12 classroom"
"It is important to view these acts within a larger context of racism in schools. Historically, our education sustem has transmitted a hierarchy that prioritizes and enforces majority culture...As we move into the twenty-first century, assimiliation and a racial hierarchy are still a part of the schooling process" (Kohli & Solorazano, 2012, p. 443).
Creating task forces, DEI groups, or whatever term we label it (or need to call it depending on your state laws) to address inequalities and microagressions in the school is important to ensure students of all identities are validated, represented, and safe in a school. As other identities present themselves at your school whether it be race, sex, gender, religion, or more, schools should incorporate these identities into the conversation and decisions made by the school. A school may also consider making a third group of parents, community members, and other adult stakeholders in the area.
Step 6: Brainstorm longer-term policy and practice adjustments
By the end of the year, the school administration and teachers will receive feedback from students and adults in the task force groups on handbook policy.
Teachers and staff will be provided training at weekly professional developments on issues such as: social emotional impact of students feeling uncomfortable at school, historical information on head coverings from different ethnicities, and rationales for allowing head coverings.
Decisions will be made to amend the handbook for the following school year and presented to the superintendent.
The student and adult subgroups established in Step 5 will continue to meet the following year to continue to address issues as needed. Further, they will work with the appropriate administrator to clarify enforcement and remedies that will be culturally sensitive and have the least impact on missed classroom time. It would also be useful for the administration to run a climate audit to understand the depth of conflict, real and potential, at the school. The DEI group will be reviewed, added, changed, as needed to represent all subordinate identity groups to the best of its ability.
On the reference page, there are links to sources for schools to consider when making or amending dress code policies. While the sources are not all encompassing they are examples of reputable sources that present sound claims for dress code policies that teachers can discuss. For schools that contain adult identities that only reflect dominant groups, resources such as the ones provided may be a first step to presenting viewpoints that challenge the dominant view.