Petition to Revise School Dress Code Policy
- by: Slhs Students
- recipient: The South Laurel High School Site Based Decision Making Council
The dress code for the 2015-2016 school year should be revised so that shorts have a minimum of a 4 inch inseam. The 2014-2015 South Laurel High School Student Handbook states that, "Shorts must have an inseam of at least 4 inches. Skirts must be no more than 4 inches above the knee." The faculty at SLHS claim that this is a mistake and that the policy is mid-thigh for shorts, skirts, and dresses. If this is true, the dress code should be revised to the previous policy made by the Site Based Council for the 2014-2015 school year. If the handbook is updated and accurate, then the policy that is stated should be enforced by the faculty and administration.
The dress code should be revised because there is a lot of controversy as to what "mid-thigh" is. Some teachers judge whether something is mid-thigh from a front point of view, and others choose to judge it from a back point of view. The problem with this is, when looking at someone from a front point of view, you tend to associate the top of the thigh just below the pelvis. When looking at someone from the back, the top of the thigh is often judged as being several inches lower. This makes it difficult to judge whether or not it meets the "mid-thigh" policy if it's mid-thigh in the front and not in the back. If there was a 4 inch inseam policy, there would be no controversy. It could be measured by a faculty member, and it would either be 4 inches or it wouldn’t be. A set measurement is much simpler.
The manner in which a dress code violation is handled should be amended as well. When a girl is told that the length of her shorts is inappropriate by a teacher, she is then sent to the assistant principal. If the student doesn't have a change of clothes with her, she must call a parent and have them bring her clothes. While the student is waiting for her parent to arrive (this can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour) she must sit in the office. Instead of going back to class, this student has to sit in the office up to an hour waiting for her parent. That's a whole class period of instruction being missed. The reason we have a dress code is so that there are fewer distractions from instructional time and so that the male students aren't distracted from participating in class. Male students having a "distraction-free" learning environment is more important than a female student missing an entire class? You're sending a message to your students and parents that a male student's education is of a higher importance than a female student's education.
The dress code for the 2015-2016 school year should be revised so that shorts have a minimum of a 4 inch inseam. The 2014-2015 South Laurel High School Student Handbook states that, "Shorts must have an inseam of at least 4 inches. Skirts must be no more than 4 inches above the knee." The faculty at SLHS claim that this is a mistake and that the policy is mid-thigh for shorts, skirts, and dresses. If this is true, the dress code should be revised to the previous policy made by the Site Based Council for the 2014-2015 school year. If the handbook is updated and accurate, then the policy that is stated should be enforced by the faculty and administration.
The dress code should be revised because there is a lot of controversy as to what "mid-thigh" is. Some teachers judge whether something is mid-thigh from a front point of view, and others choose to judge it from a back point of view. The problem with this is, when looking at someone from a front point of view, you tend to associate the top of the thigh just below the pelvis. When looking at someone from the back, the top of the thigh is often judged as being several inches lower. This makes it difficult to judge whether or not it meets the "mid-thigh" policy if it's mid-thigh in the front and not in the back. If there was a 4 inch inseam policy, there would be no controversy. It could be measured by a faculty member, and it would either be 4 inches or it wouldn’t be. A set measurement is much simpler.
The manner in which a dress code violation is handled should be amended as well. When a girl is told that the length of her shorts is inappropriate by a teacher, she is then sent to the assistant principal. If the student doesn't have a change of clothes with her, she must call a parent and have them bring her clothes. While the student is waiting for her parent to arrive (this can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour) she must sit in the office. Instead of going back to class, this student has to sit in the office up to an hour waiting for her parent. That's a whole class period of instruction being missed. The reason we have a dress code is so that there are fewer distractions from instructional time and so that the male students aren't distracted from participating in class. Male students having a "distraction-free" learning environment is more important than a female student missing an entire class? You're sending a message to your students and parents that a male student's education is of a higher importance than a female student's education.
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