JRDC

File:   JRDC (pdf)
Adopted:  March 13, 2001
Revised:  August 10, 2021

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STUDENT DRESS

Dress Code Philosophy

The Boulder Valley School District believes all students have the right to an equitable education and should be able to dress, and style their hair, for school in a manner that expresses their individuality without fear of unnecessary discipline or body shaming. Enforcement of this universal dress code shall not create disparities, reinforce stereotypes or increase marginalization of any group, nor will it be more strictly enforced against students because of racial identity, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, gender nonconformity, sexual orientation, cultural identity, religious identity, household income or body type/size.

Dress Code Policy

The Board of Education recognizes that students and their parent(s)/guardian(s) are primarily responsible for determining the students’ personal appearance (clothing, hairstyle, jewelry, headgear, hats, book bags, etc.). Students' hair/hairstyles will not be considered a cause for dress code violation.

Schools are responsible for ensuring that a student’s personal appearance does not interfere with the health or safety of any student. Students and staff are responsible for managing their own personal distractions and reactions. The following general standards will be in effect at all BVSD schools grade PK-12:

Mandatory and Allowable Dress:

• Students must wear a top, bottom and footwear while on school premises
• Some courses may require adjustments to attire and hairstyle to ensure safety during academic activities (i.e. science labs, PE, electives, CTE, etc.)
• Some courses (PE, science lab, CTE, electives, etc.) and school-sponsored extracurricular activities may require specific attire (safety gear, athletic attire, uniforms, hair tied back, etc.)

Non-Allowable Dress:

• Items that expose private parts of the body (genitalia, nipples or buttocks)
• Items with sexually suggestive language or messages
• Items that promote illegal or violent conduct, including but not limited to, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, weapons and/or gang affiliation
• Items that depict hate speech, intimidation or intolerance toward protected groups
• Items that are profane or legally libelous
• Items that make the students face unidentifiable (protective masks, clothing/headgear worn for religious and medical purposes are excepted)

These standards will be published and distributed to students, families and staff at the beginning of each school year; a copy will be kept in each school building.

Dress Code Enforcement

To ensure effective and equitable enforcement of this dress code, school staff shall enforce the dress code consistently using the requirements outlined in this policy. School administration and staff shall not have discretion to vary the requirements in ways that lead to discriminatory enforcement. Staff shall not confront students on dress-code violations in a manner that unnecessarily disciplines or publicly shames the student.

Students shall only be asked to change, cover or remove their attire if they are wearing non-allowable items identified above. Under these circumstances students shall have the following options to comply with the dress code for the remainder of the day:

• Wear their own alternative clothing, if available at  school
• Wear school provided clothing
• Call a parent or guardian to bring alternative clothing

Violation of this policy will result in parent/guardian notification of the violation; a parental conference may be held at the discretion of the building level administrator. More severe consequences may result from repeated or serious violations in accordance with policy, Policy JD/JR, Student Conduct and Discipline Code; JRR, Student Rights and Responsibilities; and Policy JDSE, Student Suspension/Expulsion.

 

LEGAL REF.:
C.R.S. 22-32-109.1 (2)(a)(I)(J) (board duty to adopt student dress code)

CROSS REFS.:
JRR, Student Rights and Responsibilities