FCPS proposes dress code changes
Fairfax County Public Schools is set to make some changes to the rules on dress codes, harassment, and other issues.
Those changes would be incorporated into the Student Rights and Responsibilities document, which Assistant Superintendent for Special Services Michelle Boyd describes as a “guide to good citizenship.”
The SR&R also ensures students have the right to an education in a safe environment and ensures schools provide equal access to supports and interventions, Boyd said during a virtual community meeting on April 10.
Gender neutral policy
The draft adds new language to the dress code section spelling out what students must wear: “a shirt and bottom or a one-piece garment (i.e. romper or dress regardless of gender identity that serves the same function as a shirt and bottom) and shoes.”
Prohibited clothing, regardless of a student’s age or gender, includes clothing that:
- Exposes genitalia, breasts, or buttocks.
- Exposes underwear due to transparency, length, or lack of coverage. Visible waistbands or straps on undergarments worn under other clothing would not be a violation.
- Depicts or promotes illegal, violent, or lewd content.
- Depicts or promotes the unlawful possession or use of weapons, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, drug paraphernalia, or other controlled substances.
The draft rules comply with a Virginia law that says dress codes must “maintain gender neutrality by subjecting any student to the same set of rules and standards regardless of gender.” That law also prohibits any school employee from enforcing the dress code “by direct physical contact with a student or a student’s attire” and “requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual.”
The law also says students must be permitted to wear any religiously and ethnically specific head covering or hairstyle.
Boyd said students may wear shirts with straps, athletic attire, and ripped jeans as long as they don’t expose underwear.
The draft SR&R “supports an equitable environment that doesn’t marginalize students,” she said. “We want students to be comfortable and focus on learning.”
Boyd said school staff are expected to enforce the dress code equitably, in a respectful, private manner, and parents are responsible for ensuring student compliance.
Parent consent
Regarding substance misuse, the draft adds language on parent consent.
For a first violation involving alcohol, marijuana, or inhalants, a student must participate in a tobacco and smoking intervention conducted by the FCPS Student Safety and Wellness Office and may be suspended for one or two days.
A new provision says, “failure to provide parent/guardian consent for participation in the intervention program within three school days of notice of the administrator’s response – or failure to attend and successfully complete the intervention program – will result in a school-based disciplinary action not to exceed one day of suspension.”
The draft SR&R offers a new definition of discriminatory harassment: “unwanted conducted toward an individual based on their actual or perceived age, race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected class.”
“The conduct must be sufficiently severe such that it creates a hostile educational environment, meaning it denies or limits a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from education programs and activities.”
The SR&R says discriminatory harassment can be expressed through physical, verbal, nonverbal, electronic, or written communications.
Such harassment can include epithets, racial slurs, misgendering, deadnaming [calling a trans person by their incorrect name], negative stereotypes, jokes, or written, printed, or graphic material that contains offensive, demeaning, or degrading images or comments.
New draft language on bullying calls for principals to notify the parents of all students involved in the incident within 24 hours.
An educational component
The current SR&R document defines hate speech as “any form of expression intended to humiliate or incite hatred against a group or class of persons based upon their actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, national origin, citizenship/immigration status, weight, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or disability.” At the April 10 meeting, it was suggested that religion be added to the list.
The draft adds an educational component for students who violate that the rule against hate speech. First-time offenders would be required to participate in a “culturally responsive, social/emotional learning intervention.”
Another proposed provision would add language to the cell phone policy requiring K-12 students to silence and put away cell phone accessories such as AirPods, earbuds, and headsets when phone use is prohibited.
Participants at the meeting recommended FCPS add a provision banning the use of ChatGPT and expanding parents’ rights. Boyd agreed that staff should look into those issues.
A revised draft of the SR&R will be presented to the school board on May 11. The board is scheduled to approve a new SR&R document on June 15.
Th SRR is a book. This is wrong. You really expect 5th graders to comprehend and understand what they are signing when they sign the SRR agreement page at the beginning of the year. Give me a set of rules that fit on one page. Eliminate the politics and get back to basics. I refused to sign the SRR every year of High School because of the rights that were stripped from me via that document. The county is still required to educate you even if you don’t sign the document. There is nothing they can do to you. They cannot strip you of our right to participate in after school activities either.
What senseless pandering. I don’t care if people wear Halloween costumes if they can read or write. As it turns out the Mason district public schools have abysmal scores that continue to trend in the wrong direction.
Simple solution- uniforms. If FCPS can waste tons of money on other items then they can buy the free lunch kids uniforms too. My son tells me every day about how the girls were next to nothing or nearly completely transparent outfits in high school, with only the boys getting into trouble if they “look” at the girls. Not to mention both boys and girls wearing shirts with offensive language and no one is sent home.
I would love uniforms. They are cheaper than kids buying outfits. All the stores carry uniforms and you make it so it is khakis of some color and polo shirts, it becomes easy. Kids will know what to wear and it costs less. Go to the Old Navy uniform section and be done with it. Schools with uniforms have better rates of learning then non-uniform schools. They really should pilot it.
Uniforms are a nightmare for kids with sensory issues. These children often can’t wear clothing with tags (even when they’re cut out), certain types of seams, and certain fabrics.
I saw a teen girl walking away from school who was wearing short shorts that exposed at least a third of her butt. Why do parents allow their kids to leave home like that?
Uniforms!!!!