Public schools have few problems with student dress codes

Part of growing up is learning what is and isn't appropriate to wear.

Ann Feldman, assistant superintendent at the Iowa City school district, feels that school dress codes for students should reflect that reality.

“We believe in not sheltering (students) from the real world and real-world decisions,” Feldman said. “That includes things like clothing and hair color.”

The Iowa City district does have a dress code, but like most of the districts in the Corridor, it's more of a guideline to keep clothing and appearance from disrupting classes.

An example of attire that's not allowed, she said, “would be a shirt that would have foul language on it. That would probably be the most typical case.”

Feldman estimated that the district typically has no more than a dozen dress code issues in a school year.

The Cedar Rapids school dress code prohibits clothing that is too revealing, such as short shorts, tube tops, exposed bras or see-through clothing. Pants must be at the waistline, with a belt required if they cannot stay up on their own. The district also prohibits gang-related attire and insignia.

Sandy Stephen, executive administrator for secondary education, said the dress code follows community standards and the district rarely has problems with it.

It's a principal's call as to whether a student's attire passes muster.

“In the judgment of the principal, we ask (students) to make modifications,” she said. “Sometimes we might provide clothing for them. We would never send a student home unless they needed a change of clothing.”

The Linn-Mar school district in Marion doesn't have a formal policy for student appearance. There's a reason for that, said Kim Buelt, the high school's associate principal.

“Kids can't say, ‘That's not in the policy,' if there's a problem,” Buelt said.

The English Valleys district, in North English, prohibits “unconventional, colored or multicolored hair.” Superintendent Alan Jensen said the policy, formulated several years ago as a precautionary measure, has had no violators.

“I wouldn't term (the guidelines) substantially strict,” Jensen said. “It works for us dealing with modesty and proper attire.”

Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Linn-Mar don't address a student's hair color/style or piercings in school dress codes, unless they became a safety issue.

Waterloo schools last spring adopted a districtwide standardized dress code that goes into effect next year, with seven schools implementing it this school year. Under the code, students must wear solid-color, collared shirts. Skirts or dresses must be at least knee-length.

The district surveyed 408 parents before adopting the code, with 72 percent of those responding favoring such a standard.

Xavier High School, a Catholic school in Cedar Rapids, requires polo shirts and slacks for boys and girls. Starting next school year, students will be required to wear Xavier-branded shirts. The change was requested by students, saido Principal Tom Keating.

“There was a lot of leeway with our old policy,” Keating said. “They wanted just one policy that would be easy to enforce.”

Xavier senior Chris Jensen, 17, said he had “mixed feelings” about the branded school clothing, but “in the end, it will be cheaper.”

No Cedar Rapids area public schools require uniforms, but Washington High School freshman Emily Petit, 15, said she would be open to the idea.

“Perhaps,” she said, “having uniforms would be a good idea since the school staff doesn't have to worry about watching out for clothes that show too much.”

Cedar Rapids Washington High School freshman Sonia Elossais contributed to this story.