FILE:  JCDB

STUDENT DRESS CODE

Guidelines for acceptable, normal, good grooming should be taught and enforced in the home by the parents as part of their responsibility in training their children for responsible citizenship.

All students are expected to be responsible in their dress and grooming by avoiding extremes and manifesting self-discipline with regards to these regulations.  Cooperation of parents is expected.

The policy of the Concordia Parish School Board shall be that no mode of attire shall be considered proper for school wear that distracts or disrupts classroom and school decorum.  No student shall wear, possess, use, distribute, display or sell any clothing, jewelry, emblem, blade, symbols, sign or other things which are evidence of affiliation with drugs, alcohol, violence or gang related activities or exhibits profane or obscene language/gestures.

The School Board feels it is the responsibility of each student to use good judgment in one's total appearance so that the attention of others is not distracted from the purpose of school.  Cleanliness shall be a basic consideration.  For health and safety reasons, students must wear shoes to school.

Any substantial complaint concerning the dress code will be dealt with by the school administration.  The final decision as to the appropriateness of school attire rests with the site-based administrator.

SCHOOL UNIFORMS

The School Board shall require students to wear uniforms to school in accordance with the school uniform guidelines contained in each school's Student Handbook.  A transfer student shall be given ten (10) days to comply with the dress code and be in uniform.

NOTIFICATION

The School Board shall notify the parent or guardian of each student of the dress code specifications and their effective date.  The dress code shall be distributed in written form or posted on the school’s website annually.

If the School Board modifies the existing uniform policy, it shall notify, in writing the parent or guardian of each student of the policy adoption or uniform policy modification at least sixty (60) days prior to the effective date of the new or revised policy.  Each school shall display any uniform selected for a reasonable period prior to the proposed effective date for wearing of the uniform.

However, nothing shall prohibit the School Board from requiring a new or revised dress code or uniform policy without the required notice in the event of an emergency.  For the purposes of this policy, emergency shall mean an actual or imminent threat to health or safety which may result in loss of life, injury, or property damage.

BODY ARMOR

It shall be unlawful and against School Board policy for any student or non-student to wear or possess on his/her person, at any time, body armor on any School Board property, school campus, at a school-sponsored function, on a school bus or other school transportation, or in a firearm-free zone, with limited exceptions as enumerated in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §14:95.9, which includes permitting a student to wear, carry, or possess a backpack on school property or a school bus that has bullet-resistant metal or other material intended to provide protection from weapons or bodily injury.

School-sponsored functions shall include, but not be limited to, athletic competitions, dances, parties, or any extracurricular activities.  A firearm-free zone means any area inclusive of any school campus and within 1,000 feet of any such school campus, and within a school bus, wherein the possession of firearms is prohibited, except as specifically set forth in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§14:95.2(C) and 14:95.6(B).

Body armor shall mean bullet-resistant metal or other material intended to provide protection from weapons or bodily injury.

DRESS CODE VIOLATIONS

Students who violate the dress code shall be disciplined in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.

A student enrolled in grades prekindergarten through five shall not be suspended or expelled from school or suspended from riding on any school bus for a uniform violation that is not tied to willful disregard of school policies.

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§14:95.9, 17:81, 17:416.7

Scott v. Board of Education, 304 N.Y.S. 2d 601 (1969)

Karr v. Schmidt, 460 F.2d 609 (5th Cir. 1972)

Board minutes, 6-12-01, 5-7-02, 5-11-04, 5-21-09, 10-14-10, 10-8-15, 9-13-18

Concordia Parish School Board