Dress Code

Director Leslie Huff, who has facilitated Dress Code Advisory Committee meetings,  will lead a presentation of the Dress Code Advisory Committee's recommendation.

• OSD Dress Code Presentation
• District Dress Code Advisory Committee Recommendation

October 10, 2018

5 p.m. Knox Administrative Center, 1113 Legion Way S.E., Olympia

Agenda
This meeting will be used to finalize recommendation for the Olympia School Board.
 

30 minutes: Finalize language around recommendations from each of three shared documents. 
30 minutes: Identify who will be presenting to the board and any additional support that is needed for preparing.

Minutes
Attendees: Committee members Ryan Hall, Wendy Bayer, Ainsley Austin and Christy Austin

The committee discussed comments from other committee members or from the community as they finalized different portions of the recommendations. Topics included uniforms, hats and hoodies, pajamas, political T-shirts or other types of clothing, and others.

 

The committee also addressed a comment from the superintendent regarding students missing class for dress code violations.

 

Upon finalizing recommendations the committee worked together to identify two presenters for the board meeting on Oct. 22. One student and one parent were selected to present with another student identified as well. The committee worked together to provide talking points and help outline slides for a presentation.

 

The committee completed the meeting saying that they welcome questions from the board and are eager to move forward with the recommendations.

 

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October 1, 2018

5 p.m. Knox Administrative Center, 1113 Legion Way S.E., Olympia

Agenda

15 minutes: Discuss and decide approach for recommendations

• Adapt what we have
• Adapt something new
• Adopt/adapt an existing outside dress code

10 minutes: Discuss key areas for inclusion

• Clothing parameters
• Purpose and goals
• Implementation guidance 

45 minutes: Small group focused on the areas identified above

20 minutes: Report out and identify next steps

 

Minutes
Attendees: Committee members Ella Meyer, Aren Wright, Ryan Hall, Kylie Phillips and Matt Grant

This meeting began with a discussion of how to move forward with the work ahead. The discussion centered on three options. First, recommendations could be drawn from scratch. The group felt there was not enough time to really craft the language for the recommendations. The second and third options were to adapt either the dress codes that are currently used in the district or adapt the recommendations from the National Organization of Women's Oregon Chapter. The group decided that the NOW guidelines offer the best starting point for language and that our group would start from these guidelines. 

In order to ensure the maximum opportunity to adapt and consider language for the recommendations, the group decided to put the document in a shared folder online. The document will be split into three sections for review by committee members and share by Wednesday October 3. 

The committee discussed some key areas of concern in the district and wanted those items to be called out on the documents so that they could be sure to be addressed. These included the banning of hats/hoods, wearing pajamas, and some other clothing specifics. 

The committee agreed to use the October 10 meeting to finalize the recommendations and offer support for those who will be presenting at the board meeting. 

 

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September 18, 2018

6:30 p.m. Knox Administrative Center, 1113 Legion Way S.E., Olympia

 

Agenda

• 6:30 - Introduce committee members and invite community attendees to participate in conversations and activities 
• 6:45 - Explore the purpose and scope of the work the committee
• 7:00 - “Fair or Biased” activity and discussion
• 7:45 - Exploration of NOW Oregon Chapter Dress Code Guidance
• 8:15 - Next Steps 
• Elect a Chair 
• Resources for and needs of the Committee 
• 8:30 - Adjourn

 

Minutes

1. Introduction of Committee Members

 

2. Exploring the Purpose and Scope of this Work
The Olympia School Board is interested in addressing concerns of students, families, and staff in a productive and transparent way. The concern of dress codes arose most recently during the Strategic Planning Summit in May, but has been a concern expressed by various individuals for some time.

This committee is tasked with exploring language and policy around dress codes and providing recommendations to the board that highlight gender, race, and sexual orientation neutral language and standards of dress.

The committee will present recommendations to the Board at the last board meeting in November. Additional committee meetings will be scheduled between now and the end of September.

 

3. Fair or Biased Activity

Committee members and meeting attendees participated in an activity exploring dress code language and its potential for biased or fair application. (See next dropdown)

Biased policies . . .

• Are unclear or open to multiple interpretations.
• Are subjective.
• Make the wearer responsible for the actions or reactions of others.
• Target clothing people wear based on their identity.
• Are enforced differently based on the wearer’s identity, gender, race, or ethnicity.

 

4. Exploration of NOW Recommendations
The committee read and discussed the recommendations for neutral dress code policies developed through the Oregon chapter of the National Organization of Women.

Discussion highlighted the following takeaways:

• Like it all.
• Appropriate responses to dress code enforcement (student not removed from class, wear other’s clothes, etc.).
• No body shaming.
• Remove the concept of professionalism – outdated.
• Faces need to be visible.
• Hats might be an issue???
• Equitable enforcement. Should not be used to harass or shame.
• Consider income equity issues. Restrictions on fit can be a financial burden when students are growing quickly.
• Is it the school’s job to “prepare” students for the workforce (ie. professional dress)?
• Consider cultural implications of certain restrictions (i.e. hats).
• Review citations regularly to ensure one group is not being targeted.
• Consider the impact of relationships between students and staff.
• Keep it simple. Don’t give the dress code so much power.
• Clarity about the types of violations (should be minor).
• Weigh the value of starting from scratch vs. retooling particular parts/enforcement/training.
• Emphasis on teaching about consent and harassment. How does this connect to instruction in health class.
• Communicate the policy clearly to students, families, and staff.
• Address hair style?
• Make sure the citizen advisory committee represents diverse experiences, cultures, and identities.
• Make sure to train teachers and admin rather than taking up instructional time.
• Talk about how best to deal with staff who apply dress code inappropriately.

 

5. Next Steps

• Election of a chair to facilitate or co-organize future meetings. The chair will also be asked to prepare the presentation for the Board meeting or organize for the presentation.
• Leadership team – Audrie, Aren, Avery, Haelynn (A3)
• Leslie will send a Doodle Poll to establish the best times for the committee to hold two additional meetings. Only one meeting will be held if decisions around recommendations can be finalized in that time.
• Leslie will send the committee links to resources regarding dress codes including those used tonight. Leslie will set up a google folder for shared resources.

 

Additional needs of the committee include:

• Citation list (Skyward)
• Swis data? Or snapshot from short period (tallies)?
• Short survey of students built by leadership team to balance official data and offer more diverse perspectives than just the committee.

Dress Code - Biased or Fair Activity

The following activity was completed during the September 18, 2018 District Dress Code Advisory Committee meeting.
 

Let’s play Biased or Fair?

 

---	Dress Code Statement	Biased	Fair
1	Clothing should not be see through.
2	Students dress should be compatible with a culture of success.
3	Shirts and tank tops must cover the stomach, back and chest. Tube Tops, Halter Tops, and tops with only one shoulder strap are not appropriate for school.
4	Any clothing that distracts from the learning process; creates a safety hazard; promotes drugs, alcohol, tobacco or their usage; is printed with racial/gender or any slurs; promotes violence and hate; contains profanity or any other offensive language or images; implies sexual innuendos; or includes paraphernalia that is gang related (or commonly associated with gangs), should not be worn to school.
5	Clothing should allow one to move comfortably, but should not be too short, too tight, or too saggy.
6	Clothing should be modest and thus will need to cover midriffs, cleavage, and any underwear regardless of the action/movement of the student.
7	Clothing should not allow cleavage or buttock exposure. No mesh tops or see-through clothing.
8	Inappropriate Attire Includes but is not limited to: Tank, spaghetti strap, tube or halter tops Underwear worn as outerwear Short-shorts and skirts (clothing should reach beyond fingertips) Spandex (pants and shorts) and excessively tight clothing
9	Teachers and administration have the authority to meet with a student if the dress is creating a safety issue or a disruption to the learning environment. Parents would be notified if the attire is determined by staff to be inappropriate or disruptive.
10	Appropriate is the key word for school clothes. Halter-tops, spaghetti straps, and shirts that reveal the belly button should be saved for home.
11	We also strongly recommend that children not wear flip flop shoes (or send an additional, appropriate pair of shoes for recess and P.E.) to school because of the risk of injury to the feet on our busy playground and/or during P.E. instruction.
12	Clothing should not be distracting to others (for example halter-tops, spaghetti straps, or cleavage/tummy showing).
13	Students must dress appropriately, No clothing associated with gang attire or that depicts alcohol or tobacco products.
14	Shoes with cleats are not to be worn at the school
15	In general, we will assess the disruption or potential for the disruption of the educational process based on the students' appearance. Failure to comply with the dress guidelines will be considered defiant behavior.

Facilitator

Leslie Huff

Leadership Team
Audrie Goe
Haelynn Kim
Avery Savin
Aren Wright

Members

Ainsley Austin
Christy Austin
Andrea Ballard
Wendy Bayer
Sean Flynn
Matt Grant
Ryan Hall
Michele Weber-Hindrup
Heather Kazda
Bill Livingston
Isabel McClatchey
Ella Meyer
Kylie Phillips
Toby Quinn
Valentina Reetz

• District Dress Code Advisory Committee Charter
• OSD Data on Dress Code Infractions 2013-2018