Free Republic

LOS ANGELES -- Teachers are expected to bear long days, challenging students and demanding parents. Now, apparently, some teachers are baring too much of themselves. School boards and superintendents increasingly are pursuing dress codes for teachers. At issue is the same kind of questionable attire most often associated with students.

Graduation's "inappropriate dress" includes military uniform Is the Plymouth, IN school board lost in the '60s? My grandson completed an accelerated program to finish his senior year early to start his out-of-town job on Dec. 7, 2004. He thought of returning to Plymouth to receive his diploma with his senior class. He would rather not wear a cap and gown. He'd rather dress as his job requires. The school board deemed this "inappropriate dress." His employer disallows covering or altering this "inappropriate dress." My grandson, PFC David L. Walker, proudly earned the "inappropriate dress." The "inappropriate dress"? The dress blues...

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Two students at Roosevelt High School say their rights were violated when they were asked to remove their T-shirts. Sisters Brittany and Tamera Chandler said Tuesday was Pro-Life Day, so they wore T-shirts with a picture of an unborn baby and the phrases, "She hears, kicks and feels pain" and "Abortion kills kids." "I figured it would open some people's eyes ... that abortion is wrong," said Tamara Chandler, a senior. Anita Micich, principal of Roosevelt, said students became upset about the shirts and a concerned teacher referred the girls to the office. Officials then asked...

Teen risks penalty over beads School threatens in-school suspension if Raven Furbert dons red, white and blue necklace By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer First published: Saturday, April 9, 2005 SCHENECTADY -- The saga continues for a 13-year-old Mont Pleasant Middle School student who is suing school officials for the right to wear a handmade red, white and blue necklace to class. Raven Furbert was a typical student before she received a string-it-yourself bead kit for Christmas. Now, the girl who filed the civil rights violation claim in U.S. District Court in February has drawn national attention as she fights...

School bans white girl with braids Jane Perrone Friday March 18, 2005 The Guardian The parents of a white teenager excluded from class because her braided hair broke school rules, claim the policy discriminates since two black pupils were allowed to have similar hair styles. Olivia Acton, 13, had her hair braided while on holiday in Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands, but she was turned away from classes in February because her new look broke her school's code. Her parents are angry that the headteacher, Allison Crompton, allowed two other pupils, with African-Caribbean heritage, to attend school wearing their...

Raven, a 12-yr-old whose uncle is fighting in Iraq made a necklace from red, white and blue beads from a jewelry kit she received for Christmas. She wore it to school as a token of support for her uncle andSchenectady school officials immediately banned her from displaying her unique neckwear in a belief such "gang-related" jewelry violates policy, court papers alleged. Raven was threatened with suspension if she continued to wear the beads.

The dress code at East Ridge High School is a strict one. Deputy School Superintendent Rick Smith says, "part of that dress code had to do of course with students not wearing any type of headdress." So when a Muslim student at East Ridge High asked the principal if she could wear a religious head scarf, the principal asked for some advice from the Hamilton County Department of Education. Mr. Smith says since this was the first time such an issue has come up, he checked with the school system's lawyers. He says, "we want to be sensitive to those...

Pennsylvania School Bans Yellow Cancer-Support Wristbands Schools Says Bands Violate Dress Code POSTED: 8:21 am EST December 6, 2004 ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- A Roman Catholic school has banned yellow wristbands that are sold to raise money for cancer research and promote awareness, saying they violate the school's uniform policy. Some schools run by the Diocese of Allentown allow the "Live Strong" bracelets sold by the Lance Armstrong Foundation, but St. Thomas More Elementary School in Salisbury Township does not. Diocese spokesman Matt Kerr said the only jewelry the school permits are a crucifix, small stud earrings or small rings. Some...

The American Civil Liberties Union (search) on Tuesday sued a southwest Missouri school district for prohibiting a high school student from wearing gay pride-themed (search) T-shirts. The district has said the T-shirts were disruptive and therefore a violation of school dress code. The lawsuit filed in federal court also names Webb City High School Principal Stephen P. Gollhofer. "Because I'm gay, my school is trying to take away my constitutional right as an American to express myself," the student, Brad Mathewson, said in a statement. "The school lets other students wear anti-gay T-shirts, and I understand that they have a...

“It's our responsibility to do the very best job we can to make sure we have an orderly environment for learning every single day. I think we've been very good at that.”Ron Lankford, superintendent of the Webb City (Mo.) School District WEBB CITY, Mo. — Whether the townsfolk know it or not, this city in the southwest corner of the state has become a battleground in the gay rights movement. The debate hasn't yet reached front-burner status at such places as the Bradbury Bishop Deli on the downtown square. Scores of locals know very little or nothing about it. This...

A dozen school-related organizations, led by the National School Boards Association, have issued some "practical" guidelines to help school officials deal with legal issues involving students' sexual orientation and gender identity. The guide, aimed at school policy-makers and administrators, "is intended to answer questions about students' civil rights which regularly arise in public schools," the National School Boards Association (NSBA) said in a press release. Using a QA format, the guide addresses questions involving student organizations and clubs; dress codes; curriculum; student involvement in school events; and harassment. Answering a question about homosexual clubs, the documents says, "A school cannot...

DANVILLE, Pa. -- Some school board members in Danville are tired of seeing short skirts, baggy jeans and flip-flops at school. They're calling for an official dress code -- for the teachers. The board president said some teachers have been coming to class in clothes that would get a student sent home. He said he first noticed the problem at a career fair, where he said some teachers "came looking like they were going to work on their cars." He wants to ban jeans, T-shirts, short skirts, flip-flops and rubber gardening shoes. Not all board members agree. Some say jeans...

(Stratford-AP, Sept. 11, 2004 11:45 AM) _ The mother of a Stratford elementary school student says she wants her 11-year-old daughter exempted from the school's dress code on moral, religious and medical grounds. Paula Gabriele, whose daughter attends the public magnet school Stratford Academy, says she met with school officials to ask that her daughter not be required to wear white or navy collared shirts and khaki or navy pants. But she says her request was denied. In addition to her philosophical opposition to uniforms, Gabriele also says her daughter has severe eczema on her legs, which she says is...

WASHINGTON, July 16 - Beards are out. So are jeans and athletic shoes. Suit coats are in, even on the steamiest summer days. That dress code, imposed by the Department of Homeland Security, makes federal air marshals uneasy - and not just because casual clothes are more comfortable in cramped airline seats. The marshals fear that their appearance makes it easier for terrorists to identify them, according to a professional group representing more than 1,300 air marshals. "If a 12-year-old can pick them out, a trained terrorist has no problem picking them out," said John D. Amat, a spokesman for...

SCHOOL BARS TEEN OVER RACIAL HAIR ROW - Jun 21 2004 By Tom Parry A TEENAGER was sent home from school for wearing her hair in braids, even though other pupils are allowed the style for cultural reasons. Jade Fitzjohn, 14, had the trendy plaits done while on holiday in Spain. But back at school, she was told to take them out or be barred. Jade refused so staff excluded her from lessons, saying she could not return until she was braid-free. When she pointed out that two black girls had an identical style, she was told they were allowed...

I am delighted that the Muslim schoolgirl Shabina Begum has lost her battle to wear the jilbab to school. As an Arab Muslim woman brought up in this country, I was angry that Shabina demanded to wear the strict head-to-toe gown to school because wearing the school’s uniform was “eroding her human rights”. To me, her demand was a flagrant abuse of the human rights this country has given her, and I feel strongly that Shabina should show more respect for life in Britain. Shabina is a British subject. This is where her parents brought her from Bangladesh and where...

Muslim pupil takes school to court over uniform Press Association Thursday May 27, 2004 A 15-year-old Muslim girl was today challenging a school's refusal to allow her to wear traditional religious dress in the classroom. Shabina Begum has been out of school since September 2002, when she was sent home after arriving for classes at Denbigh high school, in Luton, in the jilbab, a long, flowing gown. Her lawyers are arguing at the High Court in London that her right to practise her religion is being infringed unlawfully. Denbigh, a 1,000-pupil comprehensive where almost 80% of pupils are Muslim, maintains...

Robberies at banks and credit unions in Missouri have dropped 36 percent in the past year, and some people attribute the decline to a new dress code. Last year, more than 200 Missouri financial institutions adopted a "No hats, no hoods, no sunglasses" policy that had previously been used only in the Springfield area. Crime statistics released by the FBI indicate 42 fewer robberies in the first year that the policy has been in effect statewide. From May 20, 2002, to May 1, 2003, there were 117 robberies at Missouri financial institutions. From the time the policy became effective statewide...

TULSA, Okla. -- An Oklahoma school district is paying an undisclosed sum and changing its dress code to allow a sixth-grade girl to wear a Muslim head scarf. A Justice Department official said the settlement sends a message that public schools can't make students "check their faith at the schoolhouse door." The government filed a religious discrimination suit in March on behalf of an eleven-year-old who'd been suspended twice. School officials said her head scarf violated a ban on hats and other head coverings. They also apparently said other students were "frightened" by the scarf. But the Justice Department said...

CINCINNATI -- Imagine it's a special day at school, and you're asked to leave because of what you're wearing. That's what happened to a 13-year-old girl at Holy Family Catholic School in Price Hill on the day of her May crowning and graduation pictures, WLWT reported. "I don't think nothing was wrong with the dress," eighth-grader Dannielle Fuqua said. But she was told otherwise because the dress was too revealing, according to the principal. "I was crying until I got home, and I was still crying when I got home," Fuqua said. Added her mother, Kathy Meyer: "They said Dannielle's...