Salem-Keizer Public Schools to revamp dress code students consider 'archaic' and 'sexist'

Natalie Pate
Statesman Journal

A group of students and parents are calling on Salem-Keizer Public Schools to update what they describe as an "archaic" and "sexist" dress code policy. 

The young female students are tired of male teachers warning them they can see their bra straps or having to wear duct tape over ripped jeans.

They don't feel comfortable wearing skirts or dresses because boys will try to look underneath. They're frustrated with being told they are distracting the boys if they show their shoulders, and with being taken into the hallway to conduct the "fingertip test" to see if their shorts are long enough.

And they're sick of watching their male counterparts break the rules daily, seemingly without consequence. 

The controversy isn't unique to Salem-Keizer schools — or the state of Oregon.

But district officials say they've been working on updating the dress code for a while and may release a revised code as early as this week in time for the 2019-20 school year.

Students from different Salem-Keizer schools (from left to right), Aimee Pierce, 14, Kate Holliday, 14, Bella Blea, 14, Claire Campbell, 14, and Addison Campbell, 13, are pictured at Leslie Middle School in Salem on June 13, 2019. The students said the Salem-Keizer dress code is too restrictive and negatively geared toward sexualizing girls.

"Girls are growing up and they want to express themselves," said Claire Campbell, a 14-year-old helping lead the charge. "As an educational environment, we should encourage how the students want to dress and not shut it down with old dress codes.

"When women are told that we are distracting, that is treating us like sexual objects," she said. "How do you think that makes us feel?"

Students like Campbell — who testified at the Salem-Keizer School Board's June 11 meeting — argue the current dress code doesn't actually serve its intended purpose to limit inappropriate comments, experiences and touching. 

They believe it can do the opposite. 

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"When a student gets dress coded, it makes them feel ashamed, hurt, small ... ugly, not loved and embarrassed," Campbell said. "You feel robbed of your pride ... which, over time, can lead to anxiety, depression and an overall feeling of being inadequate."

The students have asked the district to update its code to mirror those of similar districts where students are allowed to wear things like hats, tank tops and fitted pants. 

They want the ability to express themselves, dress comfortably and dress for hot weather. They also want schools to be consistent in applying the dress code, including calling out both girls and boys. 

Additionally, Campbell said the district should consider "a more thoughtful approach" and teach kids "what it means to be respectful with words and actions, and to listen to each other when words like 'no' or 'don't treat me like that' are spoken."

She argued the district should then take it a step further and emphasized the legal consequences of sexual harassment.

Student Claire Campbell, 14, wears a dress that shows her shoulders at Leslie Middle School in Salem on June 13, 2019. Campbell has been vocal on the district's dress code restrictions and spoke at the last Salem-Keizer School Board meeting.

"We hope to have an updated (dress code) that reflects the message that the students shared," said Lillian Govus, director of communication for Salem-Keizer.

District leaders reviewed the code on Monday and plan to share the revised version with school building leaders Tuesday, she said. When finalized for the public, they will distribute it online and in student handbooks.

Govus said it's been revised using the school board's equity lens to ensure it's reflective of gender, gender identity, ethnicity, race, heritage, socioeconomic status and special educational needs.

She said the revised code also ensures "there is a component for our educators so it can be applied in a constructive manner."

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Salem-Keizer's current dress code

Salem-Keizer's current code states dress and grooming are mostly the responsibility of individual students and their parents. However, the "total learning climate of a school is important to educational progress."

Student are expected to dress in a modest, neat and clean way, in keeping with health, sanitary and safety practices.

"When dress and grooming disrupt or directly interfere with the educational process, it becomes a matter for counseling with the student and/or parent," the policy states.

The code explicitly states students cannot wear clothing that "compromises modesty," listing examples of "immodest clothing" such as tank tops, halter tops, tube tops, muscle shirts, backless tops/dresses or see-through attire.

Shorts and skirts that do not cover the mid-thigh area are prohibited and fashion holes in pants must be below the thigh. Students are not supposed to wear football jerseys or shirts with the numbers 13, 14, 18, 25, 277, 278, 420, 503, X3, X4, XIII or XIV.

In an attempt to be consistent, the policy says the superintendent or a designee should develop and administer dress code guidelines for elementary, middle and high schools that support the dress code policy.

Individual schools can choose to expand the guidelines with approval.

Students like Campbell agree there should be some kind of dress code policy. They agree gang symbols and threatening or discriminating words or images make people uncomfortable and scared. 

They also agree showing undergarments or private areas of the body, such as the buttocks, isn't OK either. But thighs and shoulders?

"The school counselors here (always) ... tell you that you're beautiful and that you should love yourself no matter what ... and then the next day, they turn around and tell you your shorts are too short, and they can see too much of you," Campbell said.

"What if your legs and thighs give you confidence … but then you just get shut down?" she said. "It just kind of defeats the purpose, which is to make us happy and have us get good grades and appreciate ourselves."

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Years of being sexualized

The Statesman Journal asked a group of girls, including Claire, who attend a handful of middle and high schools in the district, how long they have been experiencing dress coding.

They all responded with the same answer — since early elementary school. And they're all told the same thing — "It's distracting."

"It's weird," said Aimee Pierce, 14. "Like, you're a little kid. You don't really think about that, you don't understand. You don't think, 'Oh, my shorts could be distracting.' "

The girls argue the only way it's distracting is that it pulls them out of class and distracts from their learning. But the message received is they are distracting the boys from their studies.

"I (got) dress coded for a tiny little rip ..., maybe four inches above the knee, that barely shows any skin," said Kate Holliday, 14. "A male teacher came up to me and said, 'Kate, you don't need to show your thighs to the world.' "

Student Kate Holliday, 14, wears ripped jeans at Leslie Middle School in Salem on June 13, 2019. Holliday said when students wear jeans with holes, they are made to place duct tape over the holes.

The girls said things like repeated fingertip tests and forced duct taping of their jeans stack up to an overwhelming sense of body shaming, especially for young women.

"It induces rape culture because it tells guys that if she's wearing short shorts, she's asking for it," Pierce said.

Campbell agreed, saying "I feel like I should be learning here and I'm not — I'm just being objectified."

"Guys have catcalled me in my school," she said. "There should be more of a consequence. An administrator will hear and just keep walking."

Shannon Campbell, Claire's mom, testified at the school board meeting as well.

"I want (my daughters) to learn math, history, science, English, how to be respectful ...," she said. 

"Instead, there are daily interruptions to that educational experience because somebody has a bra strap showing."

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'I've never seen a boy get dress coded'

The girls argue the feeling of discrimination is reinforced when boys get away with violations of the code. 

Holliday described a school dance set to a Hollywood theme where a male student came dressed as Marilyn Monroe. He wore a dress, which was cut in a deep-V down his chest and had a low-hanging back that opened to the bottom of his spine.

He was not reprimanded, but the girls wearing spaghetti-straps were.

Addison Campbell, 13, Claire's cousin, talked about seeing boys on a regular basis sag their pants to the point of seeing their buttocks or boxers, but not being coded.

Pierce and Holliday mentioned multiple examples where boys have been allowed to take off their shirts in class if they have a tank top or undershirt on beneath. 

Even for track and field, Pierce has to wear t-shirts and shorts in keeping with the dress code — regardless of the heat outside — while the male athletes go topless. 

Student Bella Blea, 14, is pictured at Leslie Middle School in Salem on June 13, 2019. Blea shows how her shorts would be considered too short and her shirt would be considered inappropriate, because it shows her shoulders, according to the Salem-Keizer dress code.

"The boys, as a joke, roll their shorts up to annoy the teachers, but they don't get dress coded, even when they roll them up past our shorts," Claire Campbell said. 

As a result, Holliday argues the boys get the message, " 'Oh, I can just do whatever I want ... and there will be no repercussions.' "

Campbell said, "We ... need to be taught that women are not just bodies — they're smart and capable of great things, just like males."

Suggestions for a new dress code

At the last school board meeting, Campbell presented the dress code for the Eugene area, which "allows students to safely explore their own sense of style" and "express themselves through choice of attire," while fostering a "safe learning environment for all students."

She also provided copies of the Oregon NOW model student dress code, dated Feb. 2016, which she said would be the perfect dress code for Salem-Keizer.

Students leading a movement to change the Salem-Keizer dress code talk about their summer plans at Leslie Middle School in Salem on June 13, 2019. The students say the dress code is too restrictive and negatively geared toward sexualizing girls.

Here are some of the things they believe should be allowed:

  • Hats (including religious wear);
  • Hoodie sweatshirts (hoods allowed);
  • Fitted pants (such as leggings, yoga pants and skinny jeans);
  • Midriff-baring shirts (within reason, no undergarments visible);
  • Pajamas;
  • Ripped jeans (as long as underwear is not exposed);
  • Tank tops (including spaghetti straps);
  • Halter tops;
  • Athletic attire.

Campbell said Salem-Keizer officials have been talking about updating the dress code for a couple years now.

"They just haven't taken action on it yet, which I understand, they're very busy people," she said. "But I feel like they can do it."

For more information, go to https://salkeiz.k12.or.us/students/dress-code/ or call the district office at 503-399-3000. 

Contact reporter Natalie Pate at npate@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6745 or follow Natalie on Twitter @Nataliempate or Facebook at www.Facebook.com/nataliepatejournalist