An Alabama school district appears to be taking on the role of fashion police after introducing what may be the strictest dress code for teenage students at any high school in the country.
Bessemer City High School is banning everything from hoodies and leggings to flip-flops and Crocs.
While some of the clothing is typically regarded as inappropriate for the classroom, such as bandanas and sunglasses, others some extreme, such as a ban on comfy pajama pants or jeans with holes in.
School officials note that all of the items listed including open-toe shoes, hoodies and leggings have technically been against the rules for years, but only now are school officials are taking a stand and threatening students with suspension if they flout the rules.
‘Bessemer City Schools will strictly enforce the dress code and will not allow students to attend class if students are wearing inappropriate or questionable attire,’ the school wrote in a letter home to students and parents.
‘The faculty and administration shall encourage students to be aware that dress and personal appearance may, in a very real manner, influence the perception and attitude others may have of the student as an individual,’ a statement by the board explained.
‘Therefore, each student should consider reasonable judgment, tact, and decency in the selection of clothes for school and for personal appearance.’
Educators say that by adhering to a stricter school dress code, students will face fewer distractions which will ultimately help with learning.
Yet there are no plans to introduce a school uniform, for example, which would solve most of the problems instantly.
‘We are OK with them being individual. We just want to make sure it falls within the guidelines of our dress code,’ Principal Stoney Pritchett and counselor Tahuna Thomas said.
‘This policy is a dress code to help foster a sense of community and reduce distractions, allowing students to focus on their studies,’ the school wrote on Facebook.
Principal Pritchett also said that by enforcing the dress code, it would be safer for the students.
‘Oftentimes at the high school, we have drills. We have tornado drills, fire drills and weather drills,’ Pritchett said to KOLO.
‘We have to line up and go outside and things like that. We want to make sure that kids are safe moving throughout the building.
‘Other things happen as well that the school can’t prevent. We just want to make sure that no one breaks their leg or their ankle because the school is liable, and we want to make sure everyone is safe.’
When Bessemer City High School begins their school year on August 8, students will be prohibited from wearing the following: