Some White Hill Middle School students — and some parents — aren't happy about new dress codes being enforced on campus. Or at least, how they're being enforced.
The codes at the Fairfax school were announced over the summer, when an email went out to parents announcing amendments to existing rules. Tank-top straps, for instance, now must be at least two inches wide, while shorts and skirts can't be any shorter than mid-thigh — rules than generally apply to girls. To counter a fashion tendency among boys, the new code says pants must not sag below the waistline.
School officials opted to amend the code, which is a school policy instead of a districtwide mandate, "due to the emphasis on revealing clothing in current fashions," the school said in an email statement.
At White Hill, and other middle schools throughout the county, dress codes aim to eliminate "clothes that, frankly, are distracting," said Mary Jane Burke, the county's superintendent of schools.
"We want to make sure that the kids are dressed appropriately for the setting. If you're at the beach, and you are playing in the water or the sand, the appropriate dress would potentially be different than in the school environment."
But students, along with some parents, say White Hill's dress code goes too far in restricting fashion choices, and that enforcement on campus has been targeting girls who have hit their growth spurts before others.
White Hill seventh-grader Vivian Cunniffe and a fellow student collected more than 500 signatures for a petition presented to the school board earlier this month protesting how the dress code is enforced.
Vivian agrees "there definitely is a line" for what is appropriate school dress, but she disagrees with where the school has drawn its line.
"What bothers me is that when I have clothes that are my favorite, I'm not allowed to wear them because you can see my armpit," Vivian said. "We should be able to wear what we want and what our parents approve is right."
Dress codes are common throughout the county's schools, such as Davidson Middle School in San Rafael, which has enforced one since 2008-09, Principal Harriet McLean said.
"The faculty really wanted it because dress can be so distracting," McLean said. "It's to get the kids to be like they're going to a job, because they're supposed to be at school to do work."
Davidson students aren't allowed to wear spaghetti-strap shirts or let their midriffs or underwear show.
"We don't want to see any skin from your shoulders down to four inches above your knee," McLean said.
A similar dress code is enforced at Sinaloa Middle School in Novato, which follows districtwide dress code standards. Principal Mary Pritchard said spaghetti-strap shirts are unacceptable, midriffs can't show, pants can't sag below the waist and shorts or skirts can't be shorter than where a student's thumb hits their thigh.
"We've actually changed the policy in length of shorts. Manufacturers aren't making ones long enough to reach the tips of students' fingers," Pritchard said.
She said a recent clothing issue at the school has been leggings and yoga pants. While leggings aren't acceptable under the dress code, students are now wearing similar body-hugging yoga pants.
"There comes a point when you want to pick your battles," Pritchard said. "We do the best we can to enforce it. Usually it's a warning and then a call home."
In Marin City, spaghetti-straps and bare midriffs aren't an issue now that Bayside Elementary/Martin Luther King Jr. Academy has adopted uniforms of khaki pants or skirts and polo shirts that are red, white or burgundy.
"Managing and monitoring a dress code at the middle school level is a daily activity. I love school uniforms," said Daniel Norbutas, the combined school's principal. "I've had no discussions about dress code since I've been here.
"It takes away much of the angst that comes with social inequality and socioeconomic status out of the school experience," he said.
Many parents support White Hill's dress code, saying it dissuades students from showing up to school dressed for more casual situations.
"You're going to school, you're not going to a party," said Irene Romano, who has two children at White Hill. "It's teaching the idea that you want to put some thought into how you present yourself."
With the new dress code enforced, Romano said she has seen a big difference between this year and last year in how students — particularly girls — are dressed at school. And while she understands why some believe dress should ultimately be the parents' responsibility, Romano said the code eases the parents' burden of regularly policing their children's outfits.
Chris Campbell, a White Hill father who objects to the dress code as someone else's "morality" forced on his family and "repressive ... attacks on women," said that any guidelines should come from parents, not the school.
"I believe kids should be deciding for themselves what they should wear, and parents have the roll of saying, 'you wear this, there will be consequences,'" Campbell said. "One thing about living in this country, I have the freedom of determining the clothes on my back."
The objections aren't just about whether there should be a dress code.
Vivian's mother, China Tamblyn, said she agrees with the school's sentiment to guide children in how they present themselves. But the school's response is "just a little extreme," she said.
"When you're a 12-year-old girl, you don't have the worldly experience or the skills to deal with the attention that comes with (revealing clothing). That is the parents' responsibility to talk to their kids."
White Hill officials said the overall feedback from parents has been positive, while there have been more mixed reactions from students. The school plans to include students in upcoming meetings about the dress code.
"We believe this is an excellent opportunity for students to learn how to organize, articulate their opinions and discuss options regarding issues important to them," the school said in an email statement.
Contact Laith Agha via email at lagha@marinij.com and Megan Hansen at mhansen@marinij.com
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