Skirting the Rules

SCHOOL DRESS CODES IRK STUDENTS BUT AID TEACHERS

Congratulations. You are on your way to becoming an adult. You can
drive a car, pick a date to the prom and forget about those uniforms
in middle school. Well. Sort of.

As soon as the school year starts, each high school student is handed
the Polk County Student Code of Conduct, which spells out the do's and
don'ts of appropriate school attire, such as shirt length, clothing
size and accessories.

Enforcing the dress code to the letter can be a time-consuming
process, principals say, and though all schools are required to stick
to the rules, administrators pick their battles and try to strike a
balance between appropriate dress and keeping kids coming to class.

Mike Butler, assistant principal at Bartow High School, says schools
with gang issues may be more interested in stopping kids from wearing
bandannas rather than waste energy on the occasional untucked shirt.
Other schools may battle current fashion trends, such as belly shirts
and skirts cut above mid-thigh. But across the board, Butler says,
high schools forbid any clothes with drug, alcohol or violence, such
as shirts with beer labels or depictions of marijuana leaves.

Though the dress code may seem like a way to torment students, safety
is the main reason the code exists, says David Mobley, dean of
attendance at George Jenkins High School. Some examples he sites are
jeans that are too long and flimsy flip flops.

"We're taking care of children here. The last thing you want is
someone falling down the stairs because they aren't dressed
appropriately."

Excessively baggy clothing is also a potential threat if it is big
enough to conceal weapons.

Beyond safety issues, some of the latest fashions also give
administrators a headache because they are deemed distracting and can
take away from precious time in the classroom. These include trucker
hats (or any hat) worn during class that hides the eyes or suggestive
attire, such as Daisy Duke-sized shorts that leave little to the
imagination.

Even clothing that isn't expressly described in the student code of
conduct may be deemed improper by a teacher. America Janus, 17, of
Frostproof says she was once asked to change her shirt because a
teacher thought it was too tight.

Shorts are still open for debate among high school officials. They are
allowed in most schools if they are hemmed and fall below mid-thigh.
If the School Advisory Council finds too many violations, it has the
right to revoke a student's shorts privileges.

To encourage students to dress up and leave the slouchy stuff for the
weekends, Bartow High started "dress-up" Wednesdays, when guys are
encouraged to wear ties and sport jackets and girls to wear ladylike
dresses or trousers. The snazziest students of the day or those who
are most improved receive tickets for movies and drawings.

Butler says he can relate to the students' groans when it comes to
enforcing the dress rules.

"In my day it was bell bottoms and Afros. Every decade has its own set
of dress code issues."

But he says school clothing should be different from the clothing worn
on a Friday night at the movies. Using a phrase borrowed from fellow
principal Freddie Douglas of the International Baccalaureate School,
Butler subscribes to the idea of, "When you look good you feel good,
and when you look good you do good."