You can't wear what to school?????

[peanut12392]

That seems crazy for a school dress code, but I wish the high school DD goes to would enforce a dress code. They have one in writing, but what they tell the kids is "no butts, ****s or bellies" and if those are mostly covered then they let it go. There are teachers at this school that were very short minis.

 

[KimAshton]

If they are going to restrict what kids can wear that much why don't they just do uniforms??

 

[powellrj]

our public school went to a uniform policy and I HATE it. Nothing they owned was within the uniform policy because it was the wrong color or design. All of our polos shirts had stripes or a small logo both of which isn't allowed. No dresses only jumpers and no skirts unless they are blue, black or khaki.

I have spent a small fortune this year on clothes and other parents I have talked to have complained about the same thing. I am now doing double the laundry because they come home and change into their "other life" clothes when they get home from school so I am washing uniforms and regular clothes instead of just the regular clothes.

If you want a dress code that says shirts must have a collar and pants must be belted, that one thing, but when they have become so color and style restrictive that it places a burden on people thats ridiculous. They have logo checks for shoes????????? Have you tried to buy a decent athletic shoe with out a logo?????? Even the plain ones have a logo embedded in the leather.

I have noticed that they are starting to relax some of the rules since the beginning of the year so maybe by next year we can go back to normal polo shirts that have stripes (you know the ones that you find in EVERY store) instead of the ones you have to really search out and never find on sale and realize that kids can actually wear a pair of brown pants and learn as well as the kid wearing navy ones.

 

[tink2dw]

Originally Posted by FoodLover
Heck, when I was in grade school, girls were not allowed to wear pants. Seriously. I am older than dirt, though (44) and I grew up in a small town.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

and

LOL, my two older sisters (46 & 47yrs) have a story about one very cold winter day back in the 70s our mom sent them to middle school in pant-suits that she made for them. They were sent to the principal's office for wearing pants, lol. This was public school in a Chicago suburb.

I remember those "no pants" of any kind days, too!! In 1st grade through
6th grade they locked us out of the school at recess and after lunch in freezing cold weather!! The wind always blew in our state, they even set the Electric poles in the ground at an angel because they knew the wind would blow them straight! So, my friends and I would find a sheltered area of the building and squat down, pull our full skirts and coats down to the ground around our freezing legs, to warm them till we could go back inside.

I could never understand what the Teachers were doing that need so much privacy that they needed to lock us out of the school with snow up to our knees in dresses? Makes you wonder doesn't it??

You could have your sister do what the girls do at my Dd's high school, wear their pajama bottoms and fuzzy slippers to school.

 

[gottaluvdis]

We are having the same issued with DD12s middle school 7th grade. She has been called out of class twice due to clothing issues. Unbelievable. Honestly she dresses conservatively. She is tall for 12 - 5'7" ish. So shorts on her that are long on other people are average for her. Anyways they have a no shorts or skirts 3 inches above the knee rule. We got new shorts for school and got a call home to bring pants they were too short. I measured them at home they were not. Then she was sent my her homeroom teacher to the principal to check her shirt. He thought there was not enough sleeve??? ***
Principal said it was okay but it seems like harassement to me. They are soooo stick with these kids it is unreal.

We have the same problem with shorts and DD10. She's 5'5" in 5th grade! All the shorts that fit her in the waist are too short in the legs. She's worn some to school already this year that have been questionable, and even though our school has the "must come to tips of fingers" rule on shorts and skirts, hers are definitely shorter. I'll be glad when the weather is cool enough for her to wear jeans and pants each day (she won't wear capris). We finally found jeans long enough for her by buying juniors size 5! She has to belt them, but at least they're long enough. Luckily the school hasn't said anything about the shorts (keeping fingers crossed!)

I've never heard of a school outlawing skirts unless they are way too short, which doesn't sound like the OP's case.

 

[IDoDis]

DD 11 started middle school this year. The dress policy at her school is wayyy too picky, IMO. They must wear polos and solid color khaki-style pants (no cargo style and no flaps over the pockets). Okay, no biggie.

HOWEVER, the polos can only have 3 buttons (try finding cute polos with 3 buttons -- even the uniform shirts I ordered from Old Navy came with 5 buttons). The sleeves must be 5" long. I bought DD some Khaki capris at Target, but when she wore them to school, one of her teachers said that the front pockets were too deep! I put my hand in a pocket and it was not deep at all. I couldn't even get my whole hand in there! There was nothing on the dress code anyway about deep pocket! DD said one teacher told her she could not wear flip flops (the dress code said flip flops were okay). DD also said that during the first week of school, her science teacher would have all the kids stand in a straight line facing forward (army style) and she'd walk down the line inspecting their clothes while telling kids, "No, can't wear this", and "This is not allowed..." It was ridiculous!

Sheesh! I think the teachers get off on some type of power trip by doing this. I'm a teacher, so don't get me wrong. But, I would never do that and I would not make up my own rules and tell kids they couldn't wear something that actually was allowed.

I ended up getting DD a bunch of Hollister polos. They are cute and only have 3 buttons. I even found one on the clearance shelf for $9.99. The sleeves are long enough, too!

 

[square pond]

At our middle school they have banned pull over hoodies! They say the reason is that the hood can be used to grab someone if there is a fight and they are too easy to conceal something in??? Now mind you we live in a quiet middle class area. I am sure there are fights on occasion and even the rare case of some banned or illegal item coming to school but not enough to warrent no hoodies?? All my boys wear to school in the winter is pull over hooded sweat shirts. I think it is crazy but what do I know.

 

[BrerMom]

To the OP, does your sister's school have multiple levels?

Skirts are allowed at my DD's high school, but I've recommended that she not wear them or at least without shorts underneath. Her high school has stairs that curve around an open area. Think girl at top of stairs wearing skirt, boy at bottom looking up.....

I agree with a PP poster that either she doesn't want to wear them because somebody made an unfavorable comment (middle school girls can be cruel), the school has had an incident(s) in the past which caused the rule, or the school got tired of fighting the "how long is long enough" battle.

 

[Brenda in CA]

Girls can not wear sweatpants or shorts with saying on the butt ( which I never understood in the first place, but thats because you could put a sentence on mine......lol). There are more but I have a 6 year old boy, so other then the sandals and some t-shirts it doesn't pertain to us. However, I don't really agree with the tank top, flip flop and sandal rules, we are a beach community....we live less the 2 miles from the ocean and delaware bay, and both schools are less then 1/4 mile.

The words across the butt draw attention to the area. I won't let my girls wear shorts/sweats with words because I don't want anyone focusing on their rears. There may also have been a problem in the past with others touching butts where the words were.

As far as the open-toed sandals or flip flops - they are just a safety hazzard. Kids playing on blacktop can easily trip and bloody up a toe. Also, they aren't practical for physical education and running.

 

[4bugzinarug]

We chose a charter school ... one of the biggest draws was being able to send the kids to school in uniforms. The surrounding schools do not have much of a code at all, and I really feel strongly that a well done dress code is important (as long as the teachers don't get retentive like some of the examples shown here!).

Our kids can wear shorts, skorts or skirts as long as they don't go higher than 3" above the knee (more leeway on that in the K-3 classes). Bottoms can be khaki or navy. Polo shirts in solid pink, white, light blue or navy for girls .... navy, light blue, white or hunter green for boys. Logos ok on polos. Shoes can be white, navy, brown or black.

One of the things we like about it is that it puts the focus on learning, not on popularity & style. And, it actually simplifies our back to school shopping quite a bit. This is our third year at this school, and as usual, Gap online had everything the kids needed - even down to socks/undies/backpacks (we did end up buying shorts at old navy, they were a bit cheaper). We found coupon codes to use, which really do help when buying in quantity.

 

[Claroquesi]

I don't know where you live but check out this link to determine whether the school even has the right to do this to your child.
http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/policy_reports/dress_codes/statebystate.html

Most dress code enforcement is a violation of a student's freedom of expression rights unless the school can prove the attire is a health or safety risk, or the clothing is obscene.

 

[TupperMom7]

They should pay more attention to what they are teaching them in public school instead of what they are wearing. There is a modest way to dress and everybody with any common sense knows what that is. The shirt picture you posted looked fine to me - it should cover all that needs to be covered - not enough sleeve? Where is this school anyway?

 

[PatsGirl]

Both my DS17 and my DD10 have pretty strict dress codes at their schools. My son's school does not allow hats or hoodies once inside the building. During his horticulture shop weeks he is in uniform (green tshirt with logo/jeans/workboots) and in the alternate two weeks he can wear just about anything but the hats/hoodies and he chooses to become "Joe Jock" during those two weeks , wearing khakis and polos with white sneakers. My daughter's school has the no spaghetti straps, no bellies, no butts, etc. Skirts/shorts must be as long as the arm is when hanging straight down (and I don't think that's long enough), no flip flops or open-toed shoes, no hoop earrings. Well, all the kids wear flipflops and hoop earrings and I've seen some pretty revealing tops on these little girls too. I had a long discussion when we were at WDW last week with my DD and her BFF about the school policy which came about because of the way BFF was dressed at WDW (don't get me started on that) -- my daughter is expected to comply with the dress code but BFF, whose mom is a teacher in the same district, allows her to wear just about anything (or is that just about nothing ). I couldn't convince the kids that they were being taught how to dress for work, that school was their "work", yada yada yada -- they stopped listening in two minutes flat! So, too bad, I'm the mom and you'll do it cuz I said so

 

[DisneyPolve]

The words across the butt draw attention to the area. I won't let my girls wear shorts/sweats with words because I don't want anyone focusing on their rears. There may also have been a problem in the past with others touching butts where the words were.

As far as the open-toed sandals or flip flops - they are just a safety hazzard. Kids playing on blacktop can easily trip and bloody up a toe. Also, they aren't practical for physical education and running.

I totally agree about the words on the butt, in my original post I said I never understood, meaning I never understood why it was popular or why someone would want to draw attention to that area. (hence the comment of sentence on my butt...lol)

But I still don't agree with the sandals, flip flops yes but not sandals. I'm talking sandals with straps on the heel, they allow crocs and I don't think crocs protect your feet any more then sandals.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Our school district has mandatory uniforms for K-8. White polos, navy, khaki or black bottoms. It says skirts & jumpers must be knee length or longer. Middle school students may not have jackets with hoods. Hopefully DS's jacket from last year will still fit because it is navy blue without a hood.

 

[buzz5985]

My DS 10 started middle school this year he is in 5th grade. Due to the size of the elementary schools, 5th grade is in the middle school - in their own wing of the building.

When I wait for him after school - I am shocked at the young girls walking out, pulling the jeans down and the thongs up. These girls are in 7th and 8th grade. What mother in their right mind is allowing their girls to buy and wear thongs?? Maybe I am terribly old fashioned - but I think colleg is old enough to wear thongs. Yes they are comfortable - but let's face it - we aren't wearing them for comfort. LOL

 

[shortbun]

When I was in school, we had to demostrate to be ABLE to wear pants. Now they are forcing girls to wear pants. Amazing!

I see a reason for asking children to dress more professionally but ruling out skirts that are just above the knee does not make any sense to me. And, no shorts for gym? That school system has lost it.

My son's school has a dress code but they barely enforce it. Safety is about the only concern so flip flops are out and obscene words on clothes are out.

 

[Aliceacc]

There is a modest way to dress and everybody with any common sense knows what that is. The shirt picture you posted looked fine to me - it should cover all that needs to be covered - not enough sleeve?

I think that's the problem.... way too many people without common sense/ decency out there.

Of course the shirt pictured was fine. But I'm guessing the school set the rules and drew the lines where they could to make the policy enforceable. For example, if the girls are allowed to wear skirts, then skirt length becomes an issue. It's hard to say ___ inches above the knee: a tall girl has a whole lot more inches to play with there than a short girl. So if they say you can't wear a skirt, it becomes a non-issue.

I'm guessing the "not enough sleeve" thing comes up because they don't want tank tops... they want the girls who need one to wear a bra and they don't want the straps to show. Of course, they can't say that. So they want sleeves on the shirts and we have another non-issue. (Although the shirt you showed DID have cap sleeves; I think someone made a bad judgement call there.)

I'm guessing it's all pretty well spelled out somewhere; the OP as aunt would of course have no idea of the rules.

But I'm guessing her niece still loved the clothes and can wear them outside of school.

 

[Pembo]

My sil went to a catholic hs and they had a no skirts rule and that was back in the early 80's.

 

[Minniemouse07]

If my dd's school ever imposed uniforms or ridiculous rules such as no dresses or skirts... I would pull her out and either homeschool or put her in another school that respects their students.

I don't agree that uniforms solve ANY problems that are in today's schools... and think that "logical" dress codes (no profane language, clothes that fit, no super short skirts, nothing "revealing," etc.) are fine..but no dresses or skirts is just ridiculous and I would definitely fight that.

BTW, dd is 6yo and I had to fight to find to find appropriate dresses for a first grader. So I understand kids coming to school in inappropriate attire, but there are parents that keep on top of this.