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As students begin to return to normalcy by returning to in-person schooling, conflicts over the dress code also return. Dress codes have been a problem over the years, but recently more and more people have decided to stand up and voice their opinions. Many videos have been seen on social media, especially Tik Tok, of schools protesting against the dress code. Students rise together with signs and outfits expressing their concerns over this problem. Locally, Myrtle Beach High School students decided that enough was enough and had a protest September 7, with some students showing up to school breaking dress code and putting up flyers around the school. The students are right. Dress codes are unfair and unnecessary, specifically concerning problems with discrimination against certain genders, promotion of rape culture and sexual harassment.

The first problem is that high school dress codes are targeted towards women. It is obvious that dress codes are far harsher on girls. In a survey of 164 students by the student newspaper at Central Kitsap High School in Washington state, 79.3% of the female respondents said they had been dress coded, while only 3.9% of male students had been dress coded. Socastee student Emilee Kelly was dress coded for wearing a pair of athletic shorts in August. She said the dress code "makes girls feel like if they show skin, they're just objects...It's sexist; it makes women feel like their bodies need to be hidden and they can't be confident." Women are constantly told to cover up because they could cause distractions to boys. Being told that throughout their childhood truly puts a toll on their self-esteem and implies that a male's education is more important than a woman's education, let alone her self-worth. It is obvious that the dress code is targeted to women, especially curvier ones. Two female students could wear the same exact top, but one who is bigger in the chest would be the one dress coded for "showing cleavage". Obviously the student with the bigger chest would have cleavage, no matter what top she wears; targeting curvier women and further shames them for their bodies.

Dress codes also encourage victim-blaming attitudes associated with a "rape culture." The phrase "What was she wearing?" or "If she didn't dress like that, it wouldn't have happened" is sometimes heard when a woman says she was raped - basically implying that whatever the victim was wearing justifies the assault and then places the blame upon her shoulders. Dress coding tells girls they are at fault for distracting the boys. Instead of telling young girls to cover up, schools should teach boys how to respect them no matter what they wear along with the concept of consent. What they wear does not define who they are, nor dictate consent. What clothes are worn doesn't change the fact that assaulters will assault or that "boys will be boys". An art exhibit showcasing clothes that represent what sexual assault victims were wearing when assaulted proved this point. This exhibit is touring college campuses and is called "What Were You Wearing?" It shows a variety of clothing, from a 6-year-olds' sundress to a T-shirt and jeans. This exhibit was created to show awareness of assault victims and prove the point that it doesn't matter what one wears. Clothing does not equal assault.

The Student Handbook states that the school dress code's purpose is to make sure school attire reflects "good taste, cleanliness and comfort" and that "the school will make judgements and decisions as needed to preserve the health, safety, and decorum of students." However, the code is not equally enforced and there are other ways to still uphold those ideas without discriminating females.

The fix for dress coding involves a more permissive approach. A revision of the dress code should be implemented to no longer target certain groups and allow more freedom for students. Socastee's dress code involves specific bans on spaghetti straps, low-cut shirts, cut-out designs, crop tops, and dresses, skirts, and shorts that are shorter than mid-thigh. It is not hard to see how subjective the dress code is, as these articles of clothing are typically worn by girls. However, there still should be a moral line, and students should not come to school in their undergarments. As long as students are wearing bottoms, a top, and shoes that cover the private parts, and do not display or promote violence, hate speech, profanity or sexual behavior, there should be no problem. It should be the students' and parents' responsibility to deem their clothing appropriate for school.

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OPINION: Dress Code Unfairly Biased Against Females

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As students begin to return to normalcy by returning to in-person schooling, conflicts over the dress code also return. Dress codes have been a problem over the years, but recently more and more people have decided to stand up and voice their opinions. Many videos have been seen on social media, especially Tik Tok, of...

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By Lyn Mikel Brown

Illustrator: Alaura Seidl

"Ugh, Dress Codes!" The title of one of 15-year-old Izzy Labbe's SPARK Movement blog posts encapsulates what I've heard so many girls say they feel about their middle and high school dress codes.

Izzy wrote her blog after years of frustration, beginning in early middle school when she began to notice girls' bodies become objects of adult interest and surveillance. She honed her critique as part of SPARK Movement, an intergenerational girl-fueled activist project I co-founded in 2010. In her central Maine high school, Izzy and her friend Hannah formed the school's first-ever Feminist Club. On the top of their list was a challenge to the terms of a dress code that penalized girls for wearing shorts and spaghetti-strap tops. After reasoned conversation with administrators failed, club members quietly posted dozens of 8.5 x 11″ sheets of white paper with large black print on school bulletin boards: "Instead of publicly shaming girls for wearing shorts on an 80-degree day, you should teach teachers and male students to not overly sexualize a normal body part to the point where they apparently can't function in daily life."

Izzy is now a first-year college student, but just this spring another Maine girl, 6th grader Molly Neuner, made national news for challenging her school's dress code. Like so many before her, she joined a coalition of girls across the country using the Twitter hashtag #iammorethanadistraction. Reading her story, two things strike me: This issue is not going away and most adults don't see the gift the issue offers.

Protests against dress codes get to the very heart of what it means to be an adolescent girl. It's more than a generational claim to personal identity. Dress codes are a stand-in for all the ways girls feel objectified, sexualized, unheard, treated as second-class citizens by adults in authority - all the sexist, racist, classist, homophobic hostilities they experience. When girls push back on dress codes they are demanding to be heard, seen, and respected. This means it's a moment primed for intergenerational engagement and education.

But too often, only two types of adults appear: administrators under fire for defending their schools' policies and moms complaining about the shaming their daughters have endured or the school days they've missed for dress code violations. Where are the teachers who see the possibility for meaningful conversations about the development of institutional policies, about freedom of speech and choice, about democracy? How about those who see the opportunity to encourage critical thinking about cultural differences or the chance to examine the impact of media and pop culture on gender identity or the influence of rampant marketing and consumerism?

In response to this vacuum of adult engagement, girls are having these conversations without us. Most aren't asking schools to eliminate dress codes altogether. They simply want policies that are relevant to their lives, policies that account for changes in clothing styles, that value identity development, gender expression, and cultural diversity. And they want and expect to be consulted.

They also say they want policies that are consistent and fairly applied. One study from the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, for example, indicates teachers are more likely to discipline girls of color for minor offenses like dress code policy violations and are more likely to give them harsher punishments. Dress code policies can become just another example of a hostile school experience for girls of color, for trans girls, for girls living in poverty. Teachers who have not addressed their own unconscious biases (e.g., their tendency to judge a girl's character by how she dresses), who have not confronted their internalized sexism or racism, who struggle with students who challenge the gender binary, cannot apply dress codes fairly. The best way to ensure a policy is applied fairly is diversity and bias prevention training for teachers and administrators.

It also helps to spend some time with students who have struggled with school dress codes and who think critically about bias, prejudice, and injustice. Here are a few things I've learned from listening to what girls say that make for a good dress code policy:

1. "Each dress code rule must have an explanation," Ejin Jeong writes in a 2015 blog post for SPARK Movement. "So much of the discontent with dress codes is that students often don't understand why the rules are in place." As a result, she says, dress codes "often feel arbitrary and unfair." Bex Dudley, who blogs for Powered by Girl , tells me her school "tried to enforce 'no brightly colored bras,' when the material of the school uniform meant bras were visible. They were literally shaming girls for an 'issue' that they'd created."

2. A good policy applies to everyone; there are no gender-specific rules, no double standards. If girls can't wear tank tops, neither can boys; if girls can't show collarbones, neither can boys. In fact, girls want policies that have nothing to do with gender. "Have a plan for trans students without them having to ask for it!!" Bex exclaims. A transgender-friendly policy means anyone can wear a dress or a suit or earrings or makeup; anyone can wear their hair long or short. Formulated this way, a dress code can do more than prohibit; it can affirm and protect those who are already vulnerable, including transgender students and those who dress outside the gender binary.

3. A good dress code is attuned to cultural and religious differences and allows students to do their hair (Afro, dreadlocks) and wear clothing (hijab, turban, yarmulke) that reflect these differences. And they include rules that protect students from those who appropriate or insult their religion or culture through clothing choices.

4. A good policy is practical. It "gives some room for flexibility and expression," Bex says, "like painted nails and colored hair." And it maximizes student comfort. It accounts for changes in weather, allowing for seasonable clothing - e.g., shorts, sundresses, and tank tops when the temperature rises.

5. Girls say they want policies that do not contribute to sexual objectification by making reference to their body parts or give adults the discretion to use dress code rules to body-shame. Izzy notices that teachers target girls with "curvier figures. . . . [G]irls aren't getting in trouble for the length of their shorts," she writes. "They're getting in trouble for the shape of their bodies" and "it sounds like we're blaming girls for other people's negative reactions to their bodies. That's misogyny! And it's a problem when it enters classrooms and girls' bodies are treated - by the staff, by boys, and by each other - as dirty, ugly objects that must be covered."

6. A well-crafted policy makes boys accountable for their behavior. Girls want school dress codes that make it very clear they are not responsible for how boys view them and that their clothing choices are not responsible for boys' inability to focus or learn. Such assumptions excuse unwanted attention and harassment. It's a short leap to blaming victims of sexual assault. "Can we throw the phrase 'provocative clothing' out the window, please?" Izzy asks. "Saying that clothing is provocative insinuates that it provokes sexual assault or rape or harassment, which is totally false. Harassers harass and abusers abuse regardless of clothing choices." Instead of policing what girls wear, girls say they want schools to actively teach boys to respect girls and teach everyone to respect transgender students and those who are gender nonconforming.

7. Good dress code policies give boys credit for being more than the sum of their hormones. When girls' bodies are framed as "distractions" to boys, Gabby C. writes in a 2016 blog post for the , "they not only strip girls of their sense of self-respect and free-expression, but demean boys as incapable of controlling their basic urges."

8. A good policy clearly prohibits public shaming, which means adults don't make girls kneel in front of classmates to assess skirt length or pull out a measuring tape in public to prove a strap is too narrow. Administrators don't make an example of those who violate the dress code by forcing them to wear baggy T-shirts emblazoned with "dress code violator" like a scarlet letter. Correcting and shaming are not the same thing.

9. A good dress code policy addresses the realities of poverty and social class. Some students wear what they can afford and what's available to them. A short skirt or tight top are not necessarily attempts to ignore school rules. Dress codes can become a way to target and shame students already struggling with hypervisibility that comes with not wearing the latest styles or the most popular brands, much less clothing that fits well.

10. A good policy does not send those who violate the rules home from school. There is no logic to a policy that takes away a girl's right to education because her skirt is too short. "What's more distracting, my shoulders or the fact that I just missed an entire history lesson?" Ejin asks.

In truth, most everything useful I've learned about girls I've learned from girls. On the surface, this isn't an especially profound statement. But as I look around at the ways adults talk about girls, dismiss what girls know, blame them for the symptoms of societal injustice in all its intersectional forms, create barriers for some and soft landings for others in the guise of concern and protection - I think it's radical to listen to girls and trust them as the experts on their own experience.

However well-intentioned, dress codes are a perfect example of an educational policy that puts compliance before learning; pressures and demands before support; a top-down bureaucratic solution created by adults at the expense of the time and effort it takes to really listen to and learn from students. And if girls are not heard, we should encourage them to advocate for their right to protest if need be. We can't say we want girls to have high self-esteem, to take risks, to lead, and then dismiss or punish them when they take this issue on.

With dress codes, we can see up close and personal what it means for girls to struggle in ways that release imagination and hope for something new. The safe and affirming spaces we offer, the questions we pose, the options we create together with students, are catalysts to critical consciousness, to what Maxine Greene calls "wide-awakeness," and to the possibility that their passionate and forceful reactions to unfairness and hurt will unfold in ways that better their lives going forward.

As Gabby writes for the , "Girls who take issue with these rules aren't blindly rebelling, but truly advocating for their right to be heard as sentient subjects rather than passive objects."

It's time we listened.
References

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"Ugh, Dress Codes!" The title of one of 15-year-old Izzy Labbe's SPARK Movement blog posts encapsulates what I've heard so many girls say they feel about their middle and high [...]

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One constitutional controversy in public schools today concerns mandatory school uniforms and dress codes.

Proponents contend such measures instill discipline and prevent gang-related violence. They say uniforms and some dress codes lessen peer pressure aggravated by socioeconomic divisions, promote a unity of spirit and help administrators more quickly identify trespassers on school grounds. Some school administrators say that such restrictions help prepare students to "dress for success" in the job market.

Opponents counter that such measures suppress student individuality and personal freedom. They argue that students could become alienated if school officials close off one of their few avenues of self-identification and expression. They also question whether restrictive dress codes really make schools safer. Many parents argue that these restrictive policies also infringe on the parents' freedom in rearing their children.

THE PUSH FOR UNIFORM STUDENT DRESS

Many public schools adopted dress codes and uniforms after then-President Bill Clinton endorsed uniforms in his 1996 State of the Union address:

"I challenge all our schools to teach character education, to teach good values and good citizenship. And if it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms."

Long Beach Unified School District reported seeing a marked reduction in school disciplinary problems and violence after instituting a mandatory school-uniform policy. Public school districts across the country have followed suit. Other districts have not mandated uniforms, but have instituted dress codes that prohibit certain clothing. Commonly prohibited attire includes clothing that reveals too much of the body, contains racially insensitive symbols, promotes alcohol or tobacco, or suggests violence.

Ironically, both opponents and proponents of student dress codes point to the same U.S. Supreme Court ruling to support their positions - Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969). In this famous decision, the Court ruled 7-2 that public school officials could not censor student expression - the wearing of black armbands, in that case - unless they could reasonably forecast that the student expression would cause substantial disruption or material interference with school activities or would invade the rights of others.

Dress-code opponents emphasize that students convey a multitude of messages on their clothing, ranging from political slogans, music lyrics, and support for a favorite athletic team. They argue that school officials cannot censor student expression unless they can show that the clothing will disrupt the school environment. They contend that Tinker stands for the fundamental principle that students have the right to wear clothing with messages, just as the students in the 1960s could wear black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.

However, those who favor dress codes cite a specific passage from Tinker in support of their position. In Tinker, the Court wrote: "The problem posed by the present case does not relate to regulation of the length of skirts or the type of clothing, to hair style or deportment." Yet opponents seize on this language to emphasize that even Tinker recognized that disputes over types of clothing do not raise the same free-speech interests as regulation of the type of expression at issue with armbands.

LEGAL STANDARDS

Some courts apply the Tinker standard to determine if school officials can regulate student clothing. This standard asks whether school officials can reasonably forecast whether the student expression will cause a substantial disruption or material interference with school activities. For instance, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down a portion of a school's dress code in Newsom v. Albemarle County School Board that prohibited clothing depicting weapons.

The controversy arose after school officials forced student Alan Newsom to quit wearing his National Rifle Association T-shirt, which depicted three silhouettes of men holding guns and bore the message "NRA Sports Shooting Camp." The school policy prohibited "messages on clothing, jewelry, and personal belongings that relate to ... weapons."

In its December 2003 decision, the 4th Circuit determined that the policy was too broad and was not necessary to prevent disruptions at school. The court explained that the language of the school dress code would prohibit clothing bearing the state seal of Virginia, which depicts a woman holding a spear, or clothing bearing the athletic mascot of the University of Virginia, which contains two crossed sabers.

Many courts will analyze student dress cases under a threshold test established by the Supreme Court in Texas v. Johnson. This famous case involved the constitutionality of flag burning as a form of free speech and established a test that determined that speech was permissible if it was purely expressive and didn't impede another function. Applying this two-part test asks to students: (1) whether the student intended to convey a particular message, and (2) whether reasonable observers would understand this message. A federal district court in New Mexico applied this standard to rule that a public school student did not have a First Amendment right to wear sagging jeans.

In Bivens v. Albuquerque Public Schools, the judge questioned whether sagging pants conveyed any particular message: "Sagging is not necessarily associated with any single racial or cultural group, and sagging is seen by some merely as a fashion trend followed by many adolescents all over the United States." The judge said that even if sagging somehow constituted a message, the student failed to establish that reasonable observers would understand any message coming from the wearing of sagging pants.

Other courts have applied a test developed from the U.S. Supreme Court's 1968 decision on draft-card burning, U.S. v. O'Brien, to determine whether a school dress code is constitutional. Under the O'Brien test, a school dress code or uniform policy is constitutional if it:

1. Is authorized under state law.

2. Advances an important government interest.

3. Is not related to the suppression of free expression.

4. Only incidentally restricts free expression in a minimal fashion.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has used the O'Brien test more than once to uphold a school-uniform policy against constitutional challenge, as in Canady v. Bossier Parish School Board:

"The School Board's purpose for enacting the uniform policy is to increase test scores and reduce disciplinary problems throughout the school system," the appeals court wrote in Canady. "This purpose is in no way related to the suppression of student speech."

Another legal standard is sometimes applied to student dress-code disputes. Courts will apply the Supreme Court's 1986 decision Bethel School District v. Fraser, which allowed a school to punish a student for giving a vulgar speech before the student assembly. Some courts will use the Fraser precedent to prohibit students from wearing any clothing that contains vulgar, lewd or plainly offensive expression. For example, a federal judge in Virginia ruled that Norfolk school officials could prohibit a student from wearing a shirt with the anti-drug message "Drugs Suck." According to school officials and the federal judge, the word "suck" was a vulgar term with sexual connotations that could be prohibited by school officials.

When applying these varying legal standards, many courts have upheld school dress policies, rejecting constitutional challenges by students. For example, the 5th Circuit has upheld school-uniform policies in Louisiana (in Canady) and Texas. Many students have lost when they challenged their suspension for wearing Confederate flag clothing. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a school district's flat ban on the Confederate flag.

However, sometimes students do prevail in dress-code disputes. Because the Tinker decision emphasized that the students wearing the black armbands were engaged in political speech - the type of speech the First Amendment was most designed to protect - students wearing clothes containing political slogans and other messages can argue that a reviewing court should apply the Tinker standard to protect their right to wear political-slogan clothing.

For example, Michigan high school student Bretton Barber successfully obtained a preliminary injunction in a federal district court that prevented school officials from banning his T-shirt showing a photograph of President George W. Bush with the words "International Terrorist." U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Duggan ruled in October 2003 in favor of the student because, he said, school officials had silenced Barber's expression more out of a dislike of its message than fear that it might disrupt school.

In other words, Duggan applied the Tinker standard and determined that the school officials failed to meet that test. In fact, the judge compared Barber's shirt opposing President Bush's policies in Iraq to the students from the Tinker case who opposed the Vietnam War.

"Clearly the tension between students who support and those who oppose President Bush's decision to invade Iraq is no greater than the tension that existed during the United States' involvement in Vietnam between supporters of the war and war-protestors," Duggan wrote, adding that "students benefit when school officials provide an environment where they can openly express their diverging viewpoints and when they learn to tolerate the opinions of others."

CAN SCHOOLS APPLY DIFFERENT STANDARDS FOR DIFFERENT STUDENTS?

Many schools impose restrictions on types of clothing that is allowed. While schools can set limitations across the board, they cannot apply standards that are different for different students. For example, a public school can ban all students from wearing shorts, but cannot say that all girls must wear skirts and all boys must wear pants.

Much of the protections in this area stem from Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX states that any exclusion, denial of benefits, or discrimination on the basis of sex is illegal for any education related activity that receives federal funds.

While the protections of Title IX have been in place for since 1972, it has faced new controversies when it comes to LGBT rights. These issues came into play in the 2010 case McMillen v. Itawamba County School District. The case involved a student that identified as a lesbian that wanted to bring her girlfriend to prom, and to wear a tuxedo. Upon meeting with school officials, McMillen was told that she could not bring a date of the same sex and that girls were required to wear dresses to prom. McMillen brought suit against her high school and the high school responded by cancelling prom.

At court, the judge determined that McMillen's First Amendment rights had been violated by her school restricting her ability to openly represent her sexual orientation at prom. The high school ended up settling with McMillen and amending their policies to allow students to wear formal clothes to prom that identified with their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Court cases that pit gender identity and dress codes against each other continue to arise throughout the country, but students usually come out on top with the First Amendment and Title IX defending their rights to express themselves.

WHAT ABOUT HAIR?

Some schools impose "neatness" standards on students without referring to a dress code. Or they might call these standards "dress and grooming" policies.

Basically, courts don't agree on grooming, hair length and color-of-hair cases. Challenges to grooming policies have met with some but not great success. Most of the cases in which lawsuits have been brought against schools have involved hair length and piercings.

Some courts have upheld grooming regulations for students who wish to participate in extracurricular activities, including athletics. One court, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, justified grooming regulations as a "reasonable means of furthering the school board's undeniable interest in teaching hygiene, instilling discipline, asserting authority and compelling uniformity" (in Davenport v. Randolph County Board of Education, 1984).

Because there has been no ruling made by the Supreme Court regarding how a school may be able to regulate a part of one's body like hair, there have been inconsistent results throughout the country on this issue.

CONCLUSION

Many school districts turn to dress codes and uniforms to promote an environment more conducive to learning. They argue that these policies decrease tensions, reduce socio-economic differences, and enhance safety. Others contend these dress codes are merely Band-Aid solutions that do not improve safety and infringe on students' First Amendment rights.

The results can vary depending on the issue, but until the Supreme Court weighs in again, there will not be a definitive standard on a lot of issues that come up in contemporary cases regarding dress codes. There are a lot of grey areas on this topic, but certain things are clear. Dress codes cannot discriminate on the basis of a controversial message on clothing. It is impermissible for dress codes to discriminate on the basis of sex.

While there may be a lack of total clarity, the Supreme Court in Tinker clearly stated, "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."
David L. Hudson Jr. is a First Amendment fellow for the Freedom Forum and law professor at Belmont University who publishes widely on First Amendment topics. He is the author of several First Amendment books, including "Mahad Ghani is a human rights attorney in the Washington, D.C. area. Let The Students Speak!: A History of the Fight for Freedom of Expression in American Schools" (2011), "The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech" (Thomson Reuters, 2012) and a 12-lecture audio course, "Freedom of Speech: Understanding the First Amendment" (Now You Know Media, 2018).

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Student Expression, School Dress Codes and Uniforms - Freedom Forum

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One constitutional controversy in public schools today concerns mandatory school uniforms and dress codes. Proponents contend such measures instill discipline and prevent gang-related violence. They say uniforms and some dress codes lessen peer pressure aggravated by socioeconomic divisions, promote a unity of spirit and help administrators more quickly identify trespassers on school grounds.

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Dress codes are typically set by schools and employers. Though dress codes face First Amendment challenges by students and others, courts generally support schools and employers.

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A North Carolina principal suspended a high school girl for 10 days and banned her from attending graduation and any senior activities because she wore a slightly off-shoulder topto school. An assistant principal in Texas drew on a Black boy's head in permanent marker to cover up a shaved design in his hair. And a transgender girl in Texas was told not to return to school until she followed the school's dress code guidelines for boys.

These are only three examples across the country over the past few years demonstrating how school dress codes disproportionately target girls, Black students, and LGBTQ students.

A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that not only are school dress codes not equitable, but districts that enforce them strictly also predominantly enroll students of color. The findings come as schools increasingly clash with parents, students, and civil rights advocates over disciplinary procedures used to regulate what students can-and cannot-wear to school.

The report also calls on the U.S. Department of Education to develop resources and guidance to help schools create fairer policies and more equitable ways of enforcing them-particularly when it comes to disciplinary actions that cause students to miss out on learning time.

GAO researchers analyzed dress codes from 236 public school districts (there are more than 13,000 districts) and conducted interviews in three of them from August 2021 to October 2022.

Alyssa Pavlakis, a school administrator from Illinois who has studied school dress codes, said the findings were not a surprise.
"It does not shock me that the reports are showing that these school dress codes are disproportionately affecting black and brown students," she said, "because our schools were built on systems that were supposed to be predominantly for white people."

Pavlakis's research, published in 2018 with Rachel Roegman, concluded that school dress codes often sexualize girls, particularly Black girls, and effectively criminalize boys of color as their detentions and school suspensions mount.

What dress codes prohibit and who is impacted

Ninety-three percent of school districts have dress codes or policies on what students wear to school. School and district administrators said the policies promote safety and security for students. Prohibitions against hats or scarves, for instance, allow educators identify who is a student and who is not.

More than 90 percent of those dress codes, however, prohibit clothing typically associated with girls, commonly banning clothing items such as "halter or strapless tops," "skirts or shorts shorter than mid-thigh," and "yoga pants or any type of skin tight attire," the report says.

Many of those policies, for example, prohibit clothing that exposes a student's midriff. About a quarter of them specifically bar the exposure of "cleavage," "breasts," or "nipples," which are aimed at female students.

Almost 69 percent prohibit items typically associated with boys, such as "muscle tees" and "sagging pants."

"My girls definitely feel anger towards the school for not educating the boys and making [the girls] aware every day what they wear can be a distraction to the boys," the report quotes an unnamed parent in one district as saying. Some parents told researchers the policies promote consistency with values their children learn at home.

Other policies fall heavily on students from racial or cultural groups that have traditionally been in the minority, according to the report. More than 80 percent of districts, for example, ban head coverings such as hats, hoodies, bandanas, and scarves, but only one-third of these dress codes specify that they allow religious exemptions, and a few include cultural or medical exemptions. Fifty-nine percent also contain rules about students' hair, hairstyles, and hair coverings, which may disproportionately impact Black students, according to researchers and the district officials that GAO staff interviewed.

For example, 44 percent of districts with dress codes ban hair wraps, with some specifically naming durags, which are popular among African Americans for protecting curls or kinky hair, or other styles of hair wraps.

The report also cites dress codes with rules specific to natural, textured hair, which disproportionately affect Black students. For example, one district prohibited hair with "excessive curls" and another stated that "hair may be no deeper than two inches when measured from the scalp," according to the report.

Pavlakis said while the report did not contain details about how dress codes affect transgender, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary students, it's an important aspect of their inequitable nature.

How districts enforce dress codes

About 60 percent of dress codes make staff members measure students' bodies and clothing to check adherence to codes-which may involve adults touching students. An estimated 93 percent of dress codes also contain rules with subjective language that leave decisions about dress code compliance open to interpretation, the report says. The interpretations often target LGBTQ and Black students, according to experts quoted in the GAO report.

Schools that enroll predominantly students of color are more likely to enforce strict dress codes, and also more likely to remove students from class for violating them. This is particularly concerning because more than 81 percent of predominantly Black schools (where Black students make up more than 75 percent of the population) and nearly 63 of predominantly Hispanic schools enforce a strict dress code, compared to about 35 percent of predominantly white schools.

"When we take away that instructional time because they're wearing leggings, we are doing our students a disservice," Pavlakis said. "And at the end of the day, we're doing our black and brown students a bigger disservice than anyone else."

The report also found that schools with a larger number of economically disadvantaged students are more likely to enforce strict dress codes. Dress codes can be challenging for low-income families to adhere to, especially if they're required to buy specific clothing items, such as uniforms, or can only allow their children to have hairstyles approved by schools, experts quoted in the report said.

Finally, schools that enforce strict dress codes are associated with statistically significant, higher rates of exclusionary discipline-that is, punishments that remove students from the classroom, such as in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, and expulsions.

That means students of color and poor students-most specifically, Black girls-are most likely to face consequences for violating school dress codes, causing them to miss class time. The more class they miss, the more likely it is that they will fall behind in school.

While dress code violations do not often result directly in exclusionary discipline such as suspensions and expulsions, an estimated 44 percent of dress codes outlined "informal" removal policies, such as taking a student out of class without documenting it as a suspension.

Districts also commonly list some consequences for violations of their dress code policies, such as requiring students to change clothes, imposing detention, and calling parents or guardians.

"In order for students to get to the point where they can learn, they need to feel a sense of belonging. They need to feel cared for and loved," Pavlakis said.

"If we spend part of our day telling students, 'you don't look the right way. You're not dressed the right way, you could be unsafe because you have a hat or a hood on,' kids aren't going to feel loved supported a sense of belonging,"

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School Dress Codes Aren't Fair to Everyone, Federal Study Finds

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Girls, Black students, and LGBTQ students are disproportionately impacted by school dress codes, says the GAO's report.

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Most students have encountered school dress codes in one form or another - from bans on spaghetti straps or crop tops, to restrictions on certain hair styles, hair length, and head coverings. Despite how common they are, school dress codes and grooming policies often reflect and reinforce outdated and sexist stereotypes, and may be disproportionately enforced against students who are more likely to be policed or perceived as deviant by school officials.

School dress codes, for example, may reflect the sexist and harmful view that girls' bodies are inherently vulgar or inappropriate, that boys will be "distracted" by girls' bodies, and that girls' dress and appearance require more regulation than that of boys. Such policies also may punish LGBTQ+ students for not conforming with rigid and binary gender norms about proper behavior and appearance. Moreover, students of color - and especially Black girls and other girls of color - are disproportionately targeted for dress code enforcement because of intersecting race and gender stereotypes. Black girls, in particular, are often seen as less innocent and more adult-like, aggressive and threatening, and needing less support and protection - often known as the "adultification bias."

You may be left wondering where the line is between a permissible dress code and unlawful discrimination. Here's the short answer: While public schools are allowed to have dress codes and uniform policies, they cannot discriminate against certain students or censor student expression.
Here are a few of the basics on what public schools can and cannot do when it comes to dress codes:
Dress codes can't be explicitly discriminatory.

That means that while dress codes may specify types of attire that are acceptable, these requirements may not differ based on students' gender, race, religion, or other protected characteristics. Under federal laws protecting against discrimination in education - including Title IX, Title VI, and the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantee, public schools cannot enforce a dress code based on gender- or race-based stereotypes about appropriate dress or appearance. For example, a public school cannot require girls, and only girls, to wear skirts or dresses, or require boys, but not girls, to wear short hair. This also goes for special events and occassions - such as prom, graduation, or yearbook photos. For example, while a public school can require "formal attire" to be worn at special events, it may not require that girls, and only girls, wear gowns - or that boys, and only boys, wear a suit.

Schools cannot enforce dress codes in ways that discriminate against people for who they are. Students, your body is a not a problem. Know your rights.
All students, whether transgender or cisgender, must be allowed to wear clothing consistent with their gender identity and expression.

This is because the clothing, accessories, and hairstyles we wear are part of how we express our identity, and because schools cannot force students to conform their appearance or behavior based on rigid and discriminatory gender norms and stereotypes. For example, a public school may not enforce a dress and grooming policy that prohibits boys, and only boys, from wearing nail polish, or imposes rigid restrictions on hair length based on gender. Such dress codes marginalize non-binary, transgender, and gender-nonconforming students, and ultimately send the message that these students do not belong.

Dress codes that are unevenly enforced against particular groups of students may violate laws prohibiting discrimination.

Even when a dress code appears to be "neutral" on its face, a public school may violate students' civil rights by targeting enforcement of its dress code against certain groups of students. For example, public school dress codes that ban "cleavage" or "bra straps" - or impose restrictions on the length of shorts or skirts - are often targeted against girls and invites unnecessary and excessive policing of girls' bodies in schools. The ACLU has expressed concerns about potential discrimination where a school targeted dress code sweeps against girl students, and where a school district suspended girl athletes for practicing in sports bras, while allowing boy athletes to practice without shirts.

Moreover, Black students and other students of color are often more harshly disciplined and targeted for dress code enforcement based on racist stereotypes about proper appearance and behavior. Notably, dress and grooming policies that prohibit certain hairstyles - including hair extensions, braids, or locs - often disproportionately punish Black students and are rooted in racist standards of professionalism and respectability. In 2018, the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund raised legal concerns when a Florida school turned away a Black first grader for wearing locs on his first day of school. However, it is worth noting that courts have been less consistent about applying antidiscrimination laws to grooming policies, and your protections may vary greatly based on where you live.

Restrictions on head coverings and certain hairstyles also raise significant concerns regarding religious and racial discrimination. Students from some religious backgrounds may wear head coverings or longer hairstyles due to religious reasons, and public schools may not impose restrictions that conflict with students' religious freedom.

Schools can't discriminate based on the viewpoint expressed by your clothing.

The Supreme Court has recognized that public school students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." The First Amendment prohibits schools from picking and choosing which views students are allowed to express. All views must be treated equally, so long as they are not obscene or disruptive. This means that if a school permits items like t-shirts with slogans, buttons, or wristbands, it has to permit them no matter what message they express.

What this boils down to is that public schools' authority to impose dress codes is not unlimited. Students should be informed of their rights so they can speak out if there are violations. And school administrators must reexamine their dress codes to ensure that they do not violate students' civil rights and liberties.
Does your school have a dress code that treats people differently based on gender, race, or other protected characteristics? Let us know by filling out Click here for a handy fact sheet outlining your rights related to school dress codes and grooming policies, gender identity, and self-expression. Share this and our latest podcast episode with a friend! this form.

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Galen Sherwin, Linda Morris, Eleanor Wachtel

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4 Things Public Schools Can and Can't Do When It Comes to Dress Codes | ACLU

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As back to school season arrives, here's what to know about how far schools can and can't go when enforcing dress codes on students

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With so much happening in Saratoga, especially during the summer season, deciding what to wear isn't always easy. You're invited to a gala... or a fundraiser... or a seminar luncheon, and the dress code is spelled right out for you in black and white, but what does it really mean? How do you actually translate it into something you can put on your body?

Dress codes can be difficult to decipher at times (particularly when some of them mean the opposite of what you can deduce from looking the words up in Webster's Dictionary), so below is a run-down of the common U.S. dress codes and what they mean. We offer you this dress code infographic with his-and-her attire photos to guide you through and suggest what might be appropriate to wear for an occasion with the corresponding dress code.

Are you ready? Hold onto your hat... or black tie... whatever the occasion may be! Here's our simple breakdown of different dress codes and what they mean in U.S. culture, from casual to business casual to smart casual to business and informal, semi-formal and formal attire. We invite you to bookmark this page, pin this image to Pinterest or share via other social media channels for future reference. (click to enlarge)
View Larger Version Share This! Our Quick Guide To Dress Codes Infographic is meant to be shared, and you are welcome to do so. All we ask is that you credit us as the source with a link back to this page.
"Casual"

Casual is basically a non-dress code, and you can wear comfortable clothing.

For Him: Think Homer Simpson. Tee shirt, jeans and sneakers are appropriate. You may also opt to step it up a notch with khakis, cargos, a polo shirt or henley and still fit in just fine. Tip: Avoid inflammatory or otherwise offensive graphic tees!

For Her: Pull out your favorite jeans! You can opt for a comfortable tee or dress things up a bit with a stylish top, jewelry or even a blazer. Depending on the nature of the event, your footwear can range safely from sneakers to heels to boots. Tip: For outdoor events, sneakers are better as heels can sink into soft ground.

"Business Casual"

Business Casual is what many people would typically wear to work at the office.

For Him: Wear a pair of nice khakis paired with a polo shirt or other collared shirt. Dress shoes or loafers are appropriate. Tip: Avoid the wrinkles; iron your shirt and pants! Patterned collared shirts are a nice option for a less dressy feel than their solid counterparts.

For Her: Dress pants or khakis with a fashionable top is appropriate. A casual skirt is also an option. Feel free to dress up your outfit with heels, jewelry and/or accessories if desired. Tip: Wear your hair in your everyday style, and avoid overdoing it with makeup or perfume.

"Smart Casual"

Smart Casual (or dressy casual) is basically a combination of casual, business casual, and business dress codes, where you can combine them into a "smart" ensemble.

For Him: This is your opportunity to pair denim with a sport coat. Khakis, trousers, vests, and ties are other great options to bring into the mix. Tip: If opting for jeans, your denim should look somewhat dressy, fresh and sharp with no wear or holes.

For Her: It's safest to go with nice slacks or a skirt, though you could also wear a nice pair of dark jeans dressed up with a collared or otherwise dressy top. Throw on a blazer for an extra touch of class. Tip: For Smart Casual, you should look sharp, stylish, and neatly put together.

"Business / Informal"

Informal attire may be a misnomer as it does call for a bit of formality (not to be confused with Casual attire). Business and Informal attire is more sophisticated than Smart Casual, often signaling the need for suits, ties and dresses.

For Him: Wear a business suit with tie. You may also opt for nice slacks with a sports jacket and tie.

For Her: Wear a business suit or business style dress with heels (high or low).

Tip: For Business and Informal dress codes, stick to business colors: black, navy blue, gray or brown.

"Semi-Formal"

Semi-formal attire is more fancy than business attire but just a notch below formal tuxedos and fancy gowns.

For Him: Wear a dark suit with long tie. Tip: The more formal the dress code, the less expression you are allowed in determining your attire options; this is particularly true for men.

For Her: This is the perfect time to break out that little black dress. Most women will wear a classy short evening dress, though you may also opt for dressy separates. Tip: Ladies should avoid very short dresses and skirts that are shorter than 1 inch above the knee.

"Formal / Black Tie / Black Tie Optional"

Formal, Black Tie and Black Tie Optional events are among the most fancy of all dress codes, and you will likely be surrounded by a crowd full of tuxedos and floor-length gowns.

For Him: Wear a tuxedo with all the frills (vest/cummerbund, cufflinks, etc.) For Black Tie Optional, you may also opt to wear a black suit with white shirt and conservative tie. Tip: A Black Tie dress code does not necessarily limit you to only "black" ties, but you may opt for a black tux with any matching tie/cummerbund color of your choosing.

For Her: You are safest wearing a long, floor-length evening dress. A very fancy dress that is not floor-length may also be appropriate. Tip: Wear your hear in an elegant updo or partial updo, and put on fancy jewelry for this occasion.

Want to learn more about Saratoga-specific dress codes? Check out these guides:

Saratoga Race Course Dress Code "
Defining Garden Party Attire "

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Dress Codes & What They Mean [Infographic] - His & Her Guide To Appropriate Attire For Each Dress Code

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With so much happening in Saratoga, especially during the summer season, deciding what to wear isn't always easy. You're invited to a gala... or a fundraiser... or a seminar luncheon, and the dress code is spelled right out for you in black and white, but what does it really mean?