Some parents are complaining that dress codes in the Park City School District are too lax.
The Board of Education revisited the rules Tuesday and policies could change this fall to reduce the distractions skimpy attire can create in the classroom.
“We see that annual concern of making sure our students dress modestly in our schools,” Park City School District Superintendent Ray Timothy said. “Our administrators and our teachers want to make sure there are no distractions at school.”
But educators are not likely to go so far as requiring students wear uniforms.
“There needs to be a discussion,” he told board members Tuesday.
Dress codes and uniforms can make students safer by helping eliminate gang-related clothing on campus, Timothy said.
Officials say wearing uniforms also fosters unity and school pride and eliminates competition among students to dress the most stylish.
Uniforms could also make non-students easier to recognize on campus.
Students are better behaved and more focused on learning when strict dress codes are enforced, educators say.
Tougher policies in the Park City area could require students wear dark-colored pants and skirts and white collared-shirts. Wearing logos, jackets, belts, headwear, oversized and tight clothing during school could be banned.
“It will come up for review next year,” Park City Board of Education President Kim Carson said.
But schools are not expected to strengthen polices for the coming year, Carson said.
Board of Education member Michael Boyle said the rules should be reviewed annually.
Dress codes in the Park City area can vary from school to school with each school able to approve its own rules.
“The school dress code may include standards regarding general grooming and hygiene, extreme hair styles or colors, clothing, accessories and jewelry, body piercing and painting, footwear, modesty, messages conveyed by clothing, gang apparel, and compliance with state health codes,” a policy passed by the Park City Board of Education states.
Parents should be notified about dress codes before children go back to school, the rules state.
Meanwhile, critics claim dress codes limit free speech and deny free public education.
Educators, though, counter that uniforms can reduce clothing costs for parents by helping level socioeconomic barriers.
Parents would vote before any school in the Park City area requires uniforms, Timothy said, adding that 60 percent of ballot-casters would need to support the move.
The plan could not require the use of district funds and must include an option for students to opt out of wearing uniforms, he said, adding that families who couldn’t afford to buy uniforms could receive financial assistance.