COSTA MESA, NEWPORT BEACH : School Dress Code OKd; Teachers to Set Example

A new dress code for Newport-Mesa Unified School District students--and teachers, by way of example--won preliminary approval from the school board Tuesday.

The code prohibits clothing that encourages illegal activity, gang membership, racism, sexism, other forms of discrimination and violence. The board also added a code provision, aimed primarily at body piercing, that bans jewelry and other body ornamentation that poses a safety hazard.

Board members also insisted that “teachers and all school staff should exemplify and reinforce acceptable student dress.”

With most of the clothing issues resolved--students earlier won concessions allowing tank tops, walking shorts, hemmed cut-offs and baggy clothing--officials turned to a sometimes humorous discussion of specifics and the degree of discretion to be exercised by individual schools.

Board attorney Spencer Covert said the dress code needed to contain specific examples to clearly define community standards, and to help school principals with terms like “extremely brief garments.”

He also said school administrators need the discretion to determine what is typical gang attire.

“If it could be established that there was a Brooks Bros. gang, that all members wear gray slacks, blue blazers, starched white shirts and regimental ties,” school officials need the latitude to ban that clothing, he said.

Board member Martha Fluor, a mother of five, said she looked through some of her daughters’ old clothing and found sun dresses with spaghetti straps-- verboten under the new dress code--in sizes for elementary school girls.

“I think a principal at an elementary school will have the judgment to not bring in a first-grader for wearing spaghetti straps,” board member Wendy Leece replied.