New Dress Code Under Consideration For Cherry Hill Public School Students

CHERRY HILL, NJ — The Cherry Hill School District has proposed a new dress code.

If adopted, the following types of clothing would be banned in district buildings, according to Board of Education Member Jennifer Fleischer:

• those that advertise, condone or show the use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other controlled substances
• those that show pornography, nudity or sexual acts
• those that show "hate speech targeting groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation or any other protected groups"

Clothing that shows gang identifiers that threaten the health or safety of any student or staff member would also be prohibited under the new code, according to Fleischer.

A goal of the proposed new dress code is to ensure everyone is treated equally, she said, noting that "consistency can help us all across the board."

Another goal is to allow for some willingness to change or compromise, since "there's a lot more flexibility in recognizing the way students dress now and what's available to purchase," Fleischer said.

The proposed new dress code was greatly needed, added School Board Member Benjamin Rood.

"The district went above and beyond to say [the dress code] needed an overhaul ... and rebuild it better," he said. "It's beautiful to see because it does take out a lot of very, like old restrictive language ... so this was a real win for students in the district."

The proposed new dress code will be discussed and voted on at a future school board meeting, Fleisher said.

Got a news tip? Story idea? Send me an email with the details at janel.miller@patch.com.