Just as back-to-school shopping is getting underway, Hanover County has revised its dress code after parents and students complained the old policy was unfair to girls.
The changes the School Board unanimously adopted at a meeting Tuesday night are intended to add more clarity to the dress code.
Jennifer Greif, assistant superintendent for instructional leadership, told the board during the meeting that the changes had been proposed after parents and students spoke out at a School Board meeting in July and in private meetings.
"Some of the topics of concern that were raised in July were things along the lines of gender discrepancies, the idea of girls and their body image, the comfort of allowable clothes ... male versus female, and participation of young ladies in special events at school," Greif told the board.
The outcry by parents and students came after the School Board adopted the old dress code in June. Opponents of the old dress code had said it wasn't being enforced consistently, was too strict to be enforceable, and caused body shame for young girls who were stressed that they would be called out for not following school policy.
The new changes to Hanover's dress code policy adopted Tuesday include the following:
- Skirts, dresses, jumpers and shorts must completely cover the pelvic area and extend to the mid-thigh at all times. The previous policy said they had to be "at least fingertip length (no shorter than the tip of the middle finger)."
- The word "cleavage" was removed and replaced with "chest" in the code where it says clothes should not expose the student's midriff, chest or private areas.
- Rules for sleeveless garments were made more specific. Previously the code said sleeveless garments had to cover the top of the shoulders. Now it says sleeveless garments must "have 2 inch straps."
- Yoga pants and leggings may now be worn with tops that provide additional coverage of the pelvic area. Previously, the code said that yoga pants, leggings and tights could only be worn with skirts, dresses jumpers or shorts that met the fingertip rule.
School Board Chairwoman Sue Dibble said she was pleased with the changes made to the dress code and that she had gotten numerous emails and comments about the issue.
"We now do have a document that does add clarity and that we can use across the county," Dibble said. "With the school year fastly approaching, we would like to get a dress code on the books so that our folks that want to go out and purchase clothes are able to go and purchase those clothes now."
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