During a contentious board meeting, Texas parents blasted the district’s new, incredibly tight clothing code, which prohibits dresses, skirts, blouses, and jeans.
Just east of Dallas, the Forney Independent School District, which has 18 elementary, middle, and high schools, announced this week that its 14,000 pupils will be subject to the rigorous guidelines starting on August 11.
According to the school system, the purpose of the clothing code is “to enhance school safety and improve the learning environment” by “raising student self-esteem, bridging socioeconomic inequalities among students, and promoting positive behavior.”
However, parents and students denounced the guidelines on Monday night.
When the new regulations go into effect, Brooklynn Hollaman, a student in the tenth grade, and other pupils above the fourth grade will not be permitted to wear elegant dresses.
She started a petition, which has more than 5,000 signatories as of right now.
I disagree with it, said Hollaman.
“Hopefully they’ll reconsider; right now, a lot of people are on my side,” I said.
I’m wearing this dress tonight to defy what the district is saying since I believe the dress rule is unfair.
If a parent requests it, the district may provide an exemption for a particular article of clothing.
However, one mom questioned if she really needed to ask for permission for her daughter to identify as a girl.
James Traylor, the interim mayor of Forney, who has a daughter who lives in the neighborhood, referred to the regulations as “asinine.”
I don’t think any man should be instructing a woman what to dress, he said to the group.
“I work with ladies every day, and they dress professionally in dresses and skirts.”
Christian Reed, another father, told WFAA that he believed it was restricting creativity and self-expression.
The ability of kids and kids in this district to express themselves, in Reed’s opinion, is severely limited.
We need to purchase separate sets of clothing for daily life and for school. Most school districts don’t follow this practice.
On its website, the school district posted a stylish video promoting the new code.
Every profession has a dress code, whether it be scrubs, a welding helmet, or a chef’s apron, claims a student.
In the classroom and on the job site, professionalism and safety are significantly impacted by how I dress.
Professionalism and a strong work ethic are listed in the video as some of the top employee qualities that employers seek.
The change is then explained by the district’s superintendent, Justin Terry.
According to him, while teamwork and creativity are key, it’s also crucial to have some basic employable skills.
‘We are so excited to reset this bar with you, with our parents, with our community members, with all of our business partners, as we work together to take our schools, our classrooms back for the future of our children to have a safe, enjoyable, and excitable learning environment with Forney ISD,’ the statement reads.