Dress Codes and Uniforms

The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) student code of conduct has stated for a decade that dress codes and uniform policies must be gender neutral. However, in an exhaustive review of hundreds of recent school policies, the Tribune identified 95 schools that set separate rules for girls and boys in apparent violation of district rules. Such policies may subject transgender and nonbinary students to greater discipline, research suggests.

The code also says that CPS students "may not be prohibited from attending class" for not following dress code rules, but 53 schools governed by the district's policies have recently stated that students can be removed from the classroom from classes, referred to the office, or sent home for wearing inappropriate clothing or accessories.

Dress codes at CPS make many students feel belittled

They want us to conform to this Eurocentric (view) of what it means to be a student or what it means to be a professional and it takes away our Blackness, Smith said. "We feel like our blackness is criminal, our blackness is not supposed to be there, and our femininity, because they still police our bodies with dress codes too.

so that the dress code

If teenagers know how to dress, what to show and what not to show.The Tribune review found that dozens of schools have prohibited students from showing particular parts of their skin, including their shoulders and arms, chest, stomach or thighs, in dress codes in recent years. At least 69 banned plunging necklines or cleavages of any kind, and 132 schools warned against showing midriffs. Dress codes at 62 schools prohibited spaghetti straps. Students at 120 schools were restricted from wearing tights as pants, and more than 240 banned pants, skirts and short dresses. All of these clothing items are commonly marketed and worn by girls and adolescents.