School system changes dress code - again

In a surprising move Tuesday night, county school board members opted not to relax the system's dress code, but ultimately added stricter guidelines by prohibiting hip huggers and lowrider blue jeans as well as sandals.
The Wilson County Board of Education voted 3-2 to change the school system's dress code policy for the 2005-06 school year. Changes approved in the close vote included: eliminating hip huggers and lowridder jeans, adding tops must remain tucked into pants when a student raises his or her arms, requiring turtlenecks to cover mid-driffs when arms are raised and prohibiting open-toed shoes and footwear where a heel is not covered. Zone 2 school board member Don Weathers added a sandal strap will not count as a covered heel.
Weathers, who was elected to the school board in August, suggested the changes Tuesday to make the dress code easier to enforce.
"The more we dilute the dress code, the harder it becomes to enforce it," he said. "It takes time away from the administrators to deal with dress code issues. I think we need to change the dress code to make it easier to enforce."
At least two school board members and a few students on hand for the meeting disagreed.
Mt. Juliet High School student board member Channing Vail explained its difficult for girls to find jeans besides hip huggers to wear.
"It's really hard to find any other kinds of jeans," she said. "It's really hard, because all I wear is hip huggers. And my tops still stay tucked in."
Lebanon High School student board member Justin Boswell described the changes as "ridiculous," especially regarding sandals.
"I don't see anything that bad with that, especially for the kids in elementary school who wear sandals," he said after the meeting.
Wilson County School Board Chair and Zone 2 member Lisa McMillin expressed disbelief about the change, especially since an appointed dress code committee comprised of educators, students and parents recommended relaxing the policies.
"The educators came back with these things to make their jobs easier," she said.
Zone 5 school board member Greg Lasater, who served on the dress code committee and works as an school resource officer in the school system, also explained the current policy is not getting enforced across the system.
"Administrators don't have time to keep up with this," he said. "They have other problems to keep up with."
The new dress code will go into effect next school year.
Night News Editor J.K. Devine can be reached at 444-3952 ext. 46 or by e-mail at jk.devine@lebanondemocrat.com.