Different tactics will produce better dress code

Having attended Clovis Unified School District schools for my K-12 education, I am familiar with the dress-code policy and it seems unnecessary.

The California education code gives districts the authority to establish a dress code “if the governing board of the school district approves a plan that may be initiated by an individual school’s principal, staff and parents and determines that the policy is necessary for the health and safety of the school environment.”

The district cites “student safety” as the reason for the dress code, but it’s hard to imagine how wearing pants in March helps make a student more safe. Or how punishing boys who get their ears pierced protects them.

However, it’s odd that students and parents are tackling this as an LGBT rights issue. Unfortunately, transgender and gay rights are still politically contentious topics. By pursuing this angle, opponents of the dress code are more likely to isolate individuals who may not be sympathetic to LGBT rights.

Opponents of the code might have more success by looking at the education code and arguing whether or not the dress code is relevant to student safety. Compromise would be more likely and maybe the archaic policy would finally change.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 7:38 AM with the headline "Different tactics will produce better dress code."