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Susan Wood ReportingThe credit card bill is in the mail and the kids are headed out the door, back to school. If you're lucky, the clothes those credit cards bought will pass the first test of school...the dress code.
Principals and students don't always have the same taste in fashion. But there's one thing they should have in common, they're in school for an education. If you're a student or a parent, one of the first things you may want to learn is what can and can’t be worn at school.
Erik Lakis, Student: "What would be the perfect dress policy in your opinion? No dress policy."
Like it or not there are dress policies in our schools and some are pretty strict. It's a way to keep fashion trends from drawing attention away from the chalkboard.
Kennyn Long, Student: "Well a lot of guys are wearing tank tops that are really low and all their pants are below their butts and their underwear are all hanging out."
Deborah Swensen, Jordan High Assistant Principal: "Anything that disrupts. We want students to have a good education and we don't want other things to interfere with it due to safety issues. So extreme or unusual or immodest that it would stop that educational process for anyone. "
One standard that's pretty common for girls, your shirt must have sleeves, your skirt must reach the end of your fingertips, also no bare midriffs.
Reporter: “Now would you get in trouble for the shirt you have on right now?
Kate Danner, Junior: “ Yes I would, but girls wear shirts to school like this all the time, but they don't really enforce it. There's sometimes when they'll catch you but sometimes not."
Although the dress codes vary from school to school there are some general themes:
- No midriffs or shirts without sleeves.
- No short shorts or mini-skirts.
- No baggy or sagging pants.
- No gang clothing of any kind.
- No bandanas or hats.
- Nothing that advertises anything illegal.
And it might be tough for students who go to schools like Skyline with temperatures near the 100's and no air conditioning. It may be tempting to wear those sleeveless shirts.
For district specific policies, visit their individual web sites.
