Free Tigger!
For coming to class at a Napa middle school wearing hosiery that portrayed the Winnie the Pooh character — in violation of the school’s solid-colors-only, no-pictures, no-logos dress code — the seventh-grader landed in the principal’s office, and then in a detention program called Students With Attitude Problems.
Now Redwood Middle School and the Napa Valley Unified School District, which approved the code, have landed in court.
The school’s “unconstitutionally vague, overbroad and restrictive uniform dress code policy” flouts state law, violates freedom of expression, and wastes teachers’ and students’ time and attention that would be better spent on education, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a suit filed Monday on behalf of six students and their parents.
Actually, the banning of Tigger-wear is probably among the least offensive results of their dress code, despite local affection at Howling Point for Tigger and other tigers. According to the S.F. Gate article, one student was cited for wearing a shirt with the words “Jesus Freak” and another for wearing a pink Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon. Even if you accept that schools should be teaching appropriate expression by banning poor choices (like gang colors), there’s no way that banning all expression is an appropriate solution.
They’re trying to do a dress code like that here in Indianapolis public schools. In theory I don’t have a problem with it, but if it’s as restrictive as the above school, enforcement there’s no way it’ll fly.
Gray polo shirts, gray slacks/skirts, navy blue sweater, tennis shoes.
Buy 5 sets at the beginning of the year and you are set.
R
Set, but boring, and having utterly failed in teaching the children how to properly express themselves.
Don’t forget that the polo shirts can’t be Polo™ shirts without violating the policy.
According to Lands End…polo is more a style than a brand name.
Not sure how I feel on this one. At first I’m thinking “uniformity in school is good, and them’s the rules, so deal.” But, there are other issues, such as whether the school is billed as a “uniform school,” whether there is open enrollment (choice between schools), etc.
We had a no-tshirts-with-writing dress code. Button downs were fine. By high school, we were all pushing limits, and the administration let us, to an extent. Skorts were coming into fashion, and girls were wearing shorts, as well, which were against the dress code. Since the school was also not air conditioned, and would frequently be 90 degrees in spring and fall, the boys were getting ticked off. I started a petition which got the signatures of every male in the school, and the principal laughed it off, and said “not in my school.” The school board overruled him at the next meeting and changed the code.
If they want to wear Tigger, let them petition to wear Tigger… why get costly lawyers involved?
I should say “no offense to costly lawyers who need to make a living.”