Suffolk weighs ban on cross-gender clothing for students

SUFFOLK

Last summer, when a School Board member shared concerns about teen boys wearing long wigs, dresses and makeup to class, the principals of the three city high schools insisted they hadn't seen it.

Superintendent Deran Whitney said he had heard no complaints and had observed only one boy - in jeans and a shirt - dressed in "what is traditionally viewed as female clothing."

Now, Whitney has proposed modifications to the student dress code that include a change that addresses cross-gender clothing. The regulations, to be considered by the board tonight, ban clothing "that is not in keeping with a student's gender and causes a disruption and/or distracts others from the educational process or poses a health or safety concern."

No other South Hampton Roads school division includes that type of reference in its student dress code.

Board Vice Chairwoman Thelma Hinton, who initiated the dress code discussion, said Wednesday that she's pleased with the superintendent's proposal.

"You can be whatever you want to be," she said, "but as long as I'm on the board, I'm about safety."

Hinton mentioned reports from last summer that boys who wore feminine clothing had to use a faculty restroom because they felt threatened by their peers. She doesn't know the motivation behind their dress, "but when it becomes a safety issue, how far do you go with freedom of expression?"

The gender-related dress restriction Suffolk is considering is "deeply flawed," said Kent Willis, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia. It's too vague to be understood by students, entirely subjective and based on gender stereotyping, which is a violation of federal law, Willis wrote in an email.

"If a boy were to wear a dress to school, he would almost certainly create a buzz that could be interpreted as a distraction," Willis said, "but it would be perfectly legal for him to do it."

In June, when Hinton first raised a concern, she said teachers and parents had contacted her about male students at one school wearing nail polish, lipstick, sundresses, strappy sandals and spandex. Teachers considered it a distraction, Hinton said, but were afraid to speak about it publicly. She would not identify the school.

Hinton said she hasn't received complaints this school year.

John Whitehead, an attorney and president of The Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based civil liberties organization, also described the proposal as vague and added that it doesn't use the proper legal language. Students can express themselves as long as they don't cause "a substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school," he said.

"Will that really detract from learning today - a boy wearing a dress?" Whitehead said. "That's ridiculous."

Whitney declined to comment this week before presenting the proposal to the board.

Current division dress regulations say a student's appearance shouldn't cause a disruption, distraction, or a health or safety problem. Specifics are left up to individual schools. The high schools, for example, forbid revealing attire, head coverings, and clothing with pictures or slogans related to alcohol, drugs, sex or violence.

Those prohibitions remain in the divisionwide student dress code proposal the board will consider at 7 tonight during its monthly meeting.

At the suggestion of board member Phyllis Byrum, Whitney also is proposing a detailed dress code for employees. Those regulations list denim, spaghetti straps, flip-flops and excessively tight clothing as attire considered inappropriate. Exceptions for some of the rules would be made for special events, including "school celebrations" and "thematic instructional days."

Among school divisions in South Hampton Roads, only Norfolk has an equally specific employee dress code. Other local divisions simply emphasize a clean, neat and professional appearance.

Hattie Brown Garrow, 757-222-5562, hattie.brown@pilotonline.com