Review and Revise the AISD Dress Code

I support age appropriate well informed students that can practice respectful inclusiveness in a diversas community.

Thank you Candace for creating this petition and for your words at the SHAC meeting! I've shared it and will support this proposal in any way I can.

Please!

Thank you for putting this together... very important.

The current dress code is sexist, and needs to be updated.

I respect the hard work involved in operating a school district. Every one I know and worked with has many problems—a dress code is not one of them. Please focus on the hard stuff and not the fluff.

I was an Austin resident for three years and am concerned about equal treatment for young boys and girls regarding dress code.

I support changes that make the dress code less sexist.

Instead of wasting time and energy assuring the shorts young AISD, teenage girls wear are ‘long enough’ to not distract their male peers, let’s allocate time and energy to educating boys about respectful boundaries.

I heartily concur

Grew up in Austin ( Dill, Casis, O.Henry and AHS schools ) and still have a house there ( pay taxes ) and plan to retire there. My great niece is a student and wears normal clothes but has already been reprimanded that her shorts and leggings may 'distract boys'. This policy needs revision.

The dress code practiced at my daughter’s middle school greatly concerns me. Already at the age of 11 she understands that she is not allowed to wear leggings if they aren’t under a tunic or skirt, nor shorts that don’t pass the finger tip test, because to do so would be “distracting to the boys.” Those are her words. She asked me, “isn’t that their problem?” I think Austin ISD should say, “yes, you are right,” to my daughter. Incidentally, the PE “uniform” requires basketball shorts. It’s current fashion for boys to do so, unlike in the 70s and 80s, so I’m sure they don’t complain. But it should be noted that the majority of women’s and girl’s shorts on sale at athletic clothing stores are “normal” shorts. Basketball shorts are sold for basketball. Needless to say this also causes a financial hardship for many families, simply to cover girl’s thighs. My experiences with the dress code are from the perspective of a girl child, one who should not (yet) have to start understanding that parts of her body are shameful and distracting. I am sure many parents with children of color could also speak to how the dress codes affect their children and their sense of worth. I urge the district to review and revise its dress code policy. It should be more in line with the practice of Evanston Township, IL. Its dress code is one we should adopt in order to be a district that is fair and respectful to its children, no matter who they are.

The current dress code definitely lacks clarity and disproportionately targets females.

PLEASE

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Sexist and racist dress codes have no place in modern society. “Modest dress” is code for institutional shaming the existence of girls’ and women’s bodies. Everyone is responsible for his own behavior, regardless of what others are wearing.

As someone who volunteers in a nonprofit that empowers children through music, I feel strongly that the AISD dress code needs to be revised.

Equality starts with us and it starts now. We need to continually strive to improve the situations of all people by alleviating bias. When bias does occur, having a checks and balances to help support us in efforts to be balanced, fair, just, and equal.

Stop the sexist dress codes.

Clearer language will help everyone involved. Removing language such as distracting removes the unnecessary stigma of the wearer and puts the responsibility on the person who is so called distracted.