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by Jabeen Bhatti Local school districts often have first say in what is appropriate attire for learning but leave the last word to principals. Concerns about school violence and discipline have prompted some districts to specifically outlaw certain items of clothing, but on most campuses, dress codes are left to the discretion of administrators. "We give students a lot of latitude," said Lisa Farbstein, spokeswoman for the Arlington County Public School System. "It seems to work fine." Other districts and principals are more restrictive. Some forbid tank tops or bandannas; others outlaw hats and baggy pants. Most require students with T-shirts advocating drugs or violence to turn them inside out. In May, Prince William County School Board, reacting to the Columbine shootings, banned trench coats. But few systems as a whole restrict specific clothing. And no area school district mandates uniforms for all of its schools. Montgomery, Arlington and Alexandria have vague dress codes that allow anything that isn't deemed disruptive to learning or hazardous to safety and let principals interpret the guidelines as they see fit. Fairfax instituted a vague dress code last year that enabled principals to set guidelines and decide what "conforms to standards of good taste and decency." One school, Madison High in Vienna, took the School Board up on its proposal. The school established a code that prohibits hats, anything sheer or mesh, and clothing that leaves the back or midriff exposed. The school also adopted a clause that empowers administrators to act on anything that "results in a disruption to the learning environment." "Our current policy is working well," said Fairfax School Board member Mychele Brickner, at-large Republican. "The principals like being able to have a code because it makes their job easier. They can tell Johnny that the code doesn't allow him to wear certain things." The District of Columbia takes stricter measures. The school district sets guidelines for attire and requires each school to adopt a policy forbidding torn clothing, halter tops and other "inappropriate clothing." But no district went as far as Prince George's County Schools - three years ago, the system adopted the most restrictive dress code in the region. In 1996, the Maryland Legislature - responding to several violent school incidents attributed to clothing envy - created enabling legislation for school districts to mandate uniforms or dress codes for students. The idea was that more conservative clothing would promote learning and discipline and reduce violence in the classroom. In response, the Prince George's County Board of Education adopted a dress code that forbade hats, tank tops, bandanas, cropped shirts and baggy pants in school. The dress code makes exceptions for clothing that is worn for religious or medical reasons. But the code forbids skirts with hems shorter than fingertip level when hands are held down at the side; stretch or spandex pants worn without clothing long enough to cover the buttocks; and T-shirts with vulgar language or obscene pictures or pictures depicting weapons, drugs or alcohol or anything indicating gang membership. Then in May, Prince William joined Prince George's County in restricting specific articles of clothing - trench coats - following the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado. "Students are not permitted to wear long trench coats or bulky oversized coats within a school building," reads the new regulation. The coats could conceal weapons and are causing fear, Prince William School Superintendent Edward Kelly said. "Principals already have the authority to prohibit particular attire but we decided we needed to make this a more formal policy," he said. The school board also forbade any clothing that indicated membership in a gang or a cult. While no school district has a system-wide policy mandating school uniforms, the three school districts with the strictest dress codes tend to have the most schools with uniforms. Prince George's County already has 19 schools that require uniforms and 20 with voluntary uniform policies. Students can wear uniforms in 91 of the District's 104 elementary schools. And Prince William has eight schools with voluntary uniform policies, dropping one from last year. And while Alexandria has one school with voluntary uniforms, Arlington and Montgomery County school systems have none. In Fairfax, more than 92 percent of parents at Hybla Valley Elementary School want their children to wear uniforms. If the School Board grants their petition in September, the school will become the district's 14th with a uniform policy. ****BOX CLASS CLOTHES Dress codes are vague in most area school districts, but a few schools have uniform policies. ALEXANDRIA: No schools mandate uniforms, although one elementary school has voluntary uniforms. There is no mandated dress code, but student handbooks call for attire that "does not constitute a hazard to students or a disruption to the educational process." ARLINGTON COUNTY: No schools mandate uniforms. Only Arlington Traditional School has "dress standards" for appropriate attire. Principals decide what attire is inappropriate or disruptive. FAIRFAX COUNTY: There is no dress code, but the district prohibits clothing that could be connected to gang membership or that "advocates illegal or disruptive behavior." Principals set dress codes in their schools. There are 13 schools with voluntary dress codes. Next month, Hybla Valley Elementary will apply to become the 14th. PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY: No schools mandate uniforms, but eight schools have a voluntary uniform policy in place. Individual schools devise dress policies, but countywide student-behavior guidelines prohibit clothing that promotes drugs, weapons, alcohol, or gang membership or disrupts other students. This year, the school board banned trench coats from being worn indoors. MONTGOMERY COUNTY: No schools mandate uniforms. The district dress code leaves restrictions to the discretion of each principal. PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY: The district adopted the strictest systemwide dress code in the region in 1996, banning extremely short skirts, hats and bandannas. Nineteen require uniforms for students and 20 have voluntary uniform policies. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: There is no official dress code, although principals may prohibit clothing they deem inappropriate. Uniforms are voluntary at 91 schools. Source: Area schools
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