Student Dress Code Under Fire After Four Days

A student dress code adopted in March 2011 was finally implemented last Wednesday, and it didn't take long for the policy to come under large scrutiny from one parent.

Michael Hatem, who has two daughters in the district, threatened legal action against the district following Superintendent Henry LaBranche's decision to continue enforcing the policy.

Hatem came to the board asking them to discontinue enforcement until they can address its legal validity.

"The U.S. Supreme Court says that you can't infringe upon a student's first amendment rights unless you have an actual risk you are preventing," Hatem said.

He identified the Tinker and Bannister dress code cases, which both ruled that conclusion.

"We haven't had any problems regarding school discipline that this rule was put in place to prevent, so it doesn't pass the Tinker test," Hatem said.

The issue stemmed for Hatem after both of his daughters received warnings last week about what they were wearing.

Hatem added that on a more human level, the code is sending a bad message to girls.

"We're sending a message to girls that if you show your shoulders you're a bad girl," he said. "You're telling boys that they don't have to respect girls that dress like that."

The code, according to LaBranche, was adopted last year with large input from students.

Christine Carpenter, who serves as student representative to the board, said that she and a fellow student talked to multiple student panels, and a student information page was also formed.

"Students had every opportunity to give input," she said.

LaBranche indicated that the previous dress code was even stricter, which led to the effort to change it.

LaBranche told Hatem that counsel will be addressed to make sure the code is in compliance with the case laws he identified as well as any others.

"The other issue I think is a matter of what (Hatem) is interpreting as what is acceptable in society," LaBranche said. "That is a different question, and the board can wrestle with that after I answer the first question. In the meantime the code will be enforced."