School board ponders dress code revisions

By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

Students now know the name of the fourth middle school in the Rio Rancho system. Just what they’ll be allowed to wear at that school will be decided in two weeks.

The Rio Rancho school board approved the re-naming of its soon-to-be-converted mid-high to Rio Rancho Middle School and had a first reading on proposed modifications of the district’s dress code at its meeting Monday night.

The board agreed to let students pick the new school’s colors and mascot. But with the district facing a budget crunch, the board said the school will have to use existing athletic uniforms, even though the colors might not match those picked by students.

Students will get to choose from five color schemes – blue and silver, red and silver, red and black, orange and black and pick and black.
But with red a primary color for Eagle Ridge Middle School and black a primary color for Lincoln Middle, principal Amy Torres recommended the blue and silver scheme.

After lengthy and sometimes comical discussion from the board members and superintendent Sue Cleveland, the board agreed to leave the decision to students who will be attending the school, which will feed by Rio Rancho High and the new Cleveland High when it opens.

The district’s dress code, adopted in 1999, has been modified through the years but never gone through a comprehensive review. A committee made up of parents and principals at all grade levels and district-level staff is recommending that the policy be “inclusive rather than exclusive,” meaning the revised dress code generally permits students to wear any clothing unless it is specifically listed as not allowed.

The proposal adopts a “standard of decency” for student dress and appearance, places no restrictions on colors and broadens the styles of clothing that can be worn.

It does retain restrictions on bare midriffs, saggy pans and other so-called “objectionable apparel.” Stripes, polkadots and pattered fabrics previously banned will now be allowed, but restrictions on writing, graphic and pictures will be continued.

Clothing and items promoting gangs, drugs, violence and sexism will still be banned. So-called “spirit wear” promoting the school will be accepted as will “special day” clothing as approved by the principal.

Waivers for documented health, religious or financial reasons will be allowed.

Items specifically banned are:
• Revealing or see-through clothing.
• Exposed underwear.
• Saggy pants.
• Short dresses or shorts.
• Sleeveless tops, tube tops, spaghetti straps, halter tops and midriff shirts and blouses.
• Visible cleavage, navels and/or midriffs.
• Pajamas.
• Ripped or torn clothing.
• Bandanas, “do-rags,” shower caps or hairnets.
• Spiked, obscene or disruptive jewelry.
• Belt loop chains, wallet chains or extended belts.
• Trench coats.
• Heelys.
• Flip-flops at elementary schools (a safety issue).
• Any clothing or articles displaying words or symbols promoting gangs, drugs, alcohol, violence, racism, inappropriate language or images, or symbols of a sexual or sexist nature.

Initial public feedback to the changes seemed positive. A survey taken by the district shows 69.2 percent believe the current code is too strict and another 25.4 percent believe the code is appropriate. Only 5.3 percent believe the code is too lenient.

The survey also shows that 60.2 percent believe the proposed changes are appropriate, while 27.4 percent believe the proposal is still too rigid and only 12.4 percent believe it is not strict enough.

A total of 46.4 percent believe the proposed changes should be adopted as written, while 41.8 percent believe further changes should be made and only 11.9 percent believe the current code should be kept intact. The district received 1,011 responses to the survey.

When the code was first adopted, two surveys supported a strict dress code that would make “students should be held to high standards of dress and appearance.” Noting in a Power Point presentation that “student dress at the time did not meet the high standards desired by the community,” the controversial code:

• Limited shirts, pants, etc. to specific styles.
• Allowed only hunter green, navy blue, khaki and white colors, with two additional colors permitted at middle and elementary schools.
• Prohibited patterns, stripes, etc.
• Banned denim at the middle school level and above.
• Did not allow graphics or writing except for insignias with a maximum size of 3 inches by 3 inches.

Since then, the policy was modified:
* to allow straight-leg, plain denim jeans in 2003.
* to allow any shades of green, blue and khaki.
* allowed any color of shirt and stripes at the high school and mid-high level.
* eliminated button-down shirts at the high school level.
* placed a band on “heelys,” a shoe that includes a pop-down wheel that allows it to be converted into a modified roller skate, for safety reasons.

will be updated with additonal information