NYC Council passes dress code bills to protect LGBTQ+ and students of color
The New York City Council voted to pass two bills last week that would streamline universal dress code policies in city schools in an effort to stave off discriminatory practices, as a response to students’ and advocates’ concern that some existing policies can unfairly target LGBTQ+ youth and students of color.
Speaker Adrienne Adams in a statement said inequities in the city’s dress code policies were brought to the council’s attention by youth advocates as part of the council’s Young Women’s Initiative 2.0. The initiative was first launched in 2015 by former Speaker Mark Viverito. “By requiring greater transparency and calling for inclusivity in the dress code, our legislation can help advance anti-discrimination protections that support all students,” said Adams in a statement.
Resolution 292 calls for the Department of Education (DOE) to create more inclusive dress code policies for diverse cultures, gender expressions, and body diversity.
“The next step will be to engage in meaningful dialogue with our youth and the [DOE] to fine-tune the specifics of the dress code policy,” said Councilmember Althea Stevens, who sponsored the resolution. “It is vital for young people to shape the changes they want to see in their schools. I am committed to ensuring our city takes strides toward inclusivity, allowing the space for students to express themselves through their clothing.”
Bill 118-A, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, also requires the DOE to post dress code policies on its website, and aggregate data about each school’s violations and penalties by race and gender.
“Uneven dress code policies in New York City public schools have led to disproportionate discipline and consequences for students [who are] simply expressing themselves,” Ayala said in a statement. “Students and families should have the opportunity to easily access any school’s dress code policy in a central location on the Department of Education’s website and determine if their individual school’s policies are truly non-discriminatory and aligned with DOE guidelines. My hope is that this transparency will bring us toward consistent, inclusive, and fair policies across our school system that do not unjustly target our students.”
Some school leaders in the city are responding positively to the legislation because it aligns with their current rules.
“With the largest school system in the United States, having every school with their own dress code leads to unfairness across each school zone. This also leads to stronger safety measures in our schools to limit bullying, thefts, and other behaviors that may be tied to seeing what one student has on compared to another who may not have the access to wear whatever,” said Jermaine Wes, principal of Uncommon Bedstuy East Middle School and president of Brooklyn Young Dems. His school already implements a uniform policy, but he said he believes the legislation is a step forward for equity, social, and cultural fairness across all city schools.
“My current school is uniform-based—parents find it convenient for their scholars and it allows for parents to easily purchase items aligned to the dress code, ultimately leading to saving money. I believe a universal dress code leads to effective, focused learning,” he continued.
According to Janella T. Hinds, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) vice president for academic high schools, said the legislation seems to focus more on the need for “open communication” about dress codes with families and students than the enforcement of new policies.
Hinds teaches social studies at the High School for Public Service: Heroes of Tomorrow in Brooklyn, where school uniforms are mandatory. Sometimes students do genuinely push back against uniforms, she said, because they don’t like things that limit their self expression.
“The way we deal with it is to have conversations about the reality that in some professions, uniforms are mandatory and uniforms do serve a purpose,” Hinds said. “Even with the diversity of options we have available, students sometimes push back. They want to show who they are and express themselves, and being put into a box can be frustrating.”
Hinds is concerned about discrimination toward queer and disabled students, and students of color when it comes to clothing and expression. However, it’s the existing race and gender disparities of dress code violations and subsequent harsh punishments that she is really worried about, especially since there’s a systemic issue with overtly policing, sexualizing, and criminalizing young Black girls in many schools nationwide.
“We want to make sure there is even enforcement,” said Hinds. “We want to make sure this doesn’t become another vehicle for particular groups of students to be treated unfairly [or] for confrontation between teachers and students.”
At present, city schools have individual freedom to enforce their own dress code policies. There are, however, DOE dress code guidelines: Students have the right to determine their own attire, except where the clothing is “dangerous,” “interferes with the teaching and learning process,” or “violates the anti-discrimination policy.” The guidelines state that dress codes can’t prohibit students from wearing natural hairstyles, typically affiliated with Black and Brown students; can’t prohibit religious head coverings or du rags; and can’t require gender-specific attire or ban “distracting” clothing usually associated with girls.
“Per NYC Public Schools’ Dress Code Guidelines, dress codes are decided at the individual school level and require that schools examine their reasoning and justification for their respective policies, and schools must consider evolving generational, cultural, social, and identity norms,” said DOE Press Secretary Nathaniel Steyer in a statement. “Also, dress codes must be gender-neutral and cannot prohibit certain types of clothing that are stereotypically associated with one gender, and they must be implemented equally and in a non-discriminatory manner.”Wes
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