Students in Proviso Township’s two high schools have never looked so good, at least in the eyes of their teachers and administrators.
But though a tough new dress code may have dramatically improved the appearance of students, it would face an uphill battle in withstanding a court challenge, according to some legal authorities.
And on Wednesday night, the District 209 school board got an earful from about 100 students and parents about the new dress code, the vast majority opposed to it.
Shante Johnson, a freshman from Maywood, thinks that students should petition the school board to make the dress code less restrictive. “I don’t think it’s so bad, but I don’t think we’re going to learn any more,” said Johnson, who objects to students not being allowed to wear T-shirts and jogging suits.
Lloyd Mooney, from Hillside, who has two sons attending Proviso West, objects to the late notice of the dress code. “We’ve already purchased the clothing for this year. None of the clothes we purchased conform to the dress code. I don’t mind that the board eliminated T-shirts with derogatory statements or alcohol slogans, but kids wear T-shirts.”
Charles Blackmon, from Berkeley, a senior at Proviso West, said “Students perform better when they’re comfortable. The way I dress brings up my self-esteem. Students perform better when they feel better about themselves.”
District 209, with Proviso East High School in Maywood and Proviso West High School in Hillside, is enforcing a dress code characterized by one school law expert as “the most sweeping and aggressive” of any Illinois school district.
The code bars 15 kinds of attire, including all T-shirts, shorts, jogging suits, halter tops and jewelry with obscene or Satanic messages.
The types of dress allowed include full-length slacks or pants, skirts or dresses no shorter than two inches above the knee and shirts with collars.
Principals, deans, security guards and teachers are checking students for violations.
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Scores of teenagers in the two schools, with a combined enrollment of 4,300 students, have been barred from classes until they comply, mainly for wearing T-shirts or shorts. In some instances, parents have come to school with a change of clothes for their youngsters.
Though many public schools have dress codes with general statements such as appropriate clothes are required, none is so specific as Proviso, said Brian Braun, a Champaign attorney and author of a school law book widely used throughout the state.
The school board in July adopted stricter dress regulations “to raise our standards and improve our image,” said Rebecca Montoya-Kostro, Proviso West principal.
She said for years the two schools “have had a negative image in the community.” Also, academic achievement at the schools, as measured by scores on the American College Test and state-mandated tests, is low.
Of 122 suburban high schools in the six-county area, Proviso East was 122nd on the ACT and Proviso West was 115th.
The Proviso West principal said learning improves when students are better dressed.
Both Montoya-Kostro and Diane Dyer-Dawson, Proviso East principal, said that students’ appearance has markedly improved from the last school year, when authorities began to meet with students and parents to forge new standards for attire that led to adoption of the new code.
“We are creating an atmosphere that is more conducive for learning,” Montoya-Kostro said. “We are preparing students for the real world of business.”
Montoya-Costro said she believes the dress code is constitutional. She cites court cases such as last year’s ruling upholding the Albuquerque school dress code barring “sagging pants” and a decision in South Hadley, Mass., permitting the schools to ban T-shirts with vulgar messages.
Schools adopt dress codes for two reasons, said Valerie Phillips, spokeswoman for the Chicago office of the American Civil Liberties Union. They claim it will promote learning and they want to deal with the problem of students attacking and killing each other to get their fashionable clothes.
Neither reason, the ACLU said, would stand up against a court challenge that a student’s constitutional right to free expression is being violated.
Attorney and author Braun said schools must demonstrate that dress codes are necessary to ensure the health and safety of students. In a court suit, Proviso probably could show that part of its dress code meets this test, such as barring clothes or jewelry with messages about drugs or alcohol.
But in barring all T-s, Braun said, Proviso probably “has gone too far” and would be hard-pressed to convince a judge that this is necessary to protect the health and safety of students.