Matt Haney
With all the challenges that we face in getting students to feel welcomed, comfortable and safe at school, why we would we set up new barriers that push some students away, particularly students of color? In a city known for our eclectic style and love for our sports teams, where residents struggle to stay here, why are we creating blanket bans and punishing students for clothing that many of us use regularly to express our identity and local pride?
These are some of the questions that the San Francisco Board of Education considered this week when we voted unanimously to update and modernize our student dress code policies by eliminating outdated aspects of our dress code and lifting a district-wide prohibition on hats and head coverings.
With the passage of the district’s new policy, students’ rights to wear a hat outdoors and for religious reasons will be protected, and school communities will have the opportunity to develop their own dress standards by taking into consideration the voices of students, parents and staff.
Teachers will no longer have to chase students around the hallways enforcing a hat ban simply because it is district policy, and we will ensure that students aren’t suspended or sent home for dress code violations.
Creating schools where students feel welcome and connected, where they can safely express their identity, is not a minor issue, particularly for our most vulnerable students.
Restrictions on hats and head coverings deserve special attention. There is a broad range of reasons that students may want to cover their heads, some religious, some cultural, some economic and some deeply personal.
A middle school student told me about how there are some days, such as when she had been San Francisco’s new dress code removes causes of needless conflict | EdSource Today:
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