Granite City Schools Send Out Surveys on Student Dress Code Plan

By Jayne Matthews, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.

Apr. 12–GRANITE CITY — School leaders will look at the results of a written survey before deciding whether to add a stricter dress code to all grades next school year.

School District 9 mailed survey forms to parents last week. Students and school staff also are being asked to fill out the forms at school, said administrator Ruth Carr, who will tabulate the results of the survey.

The deadline to submit completed survey forms is May 24. Carr said the results of the survey will be released before a public forum on the proposed dress code, scheduled for May 2 at the high school.

The school board will vote on the dress code at its regular meeting May 9.

Getting the survey out has been slowed by the students’ and teachers’ vacation this week, she said.

“Our spring break kind of interfered with getting them out quickly,” Carr said.

Some schools may not give the forms to students until Monday, she said.

The proposed dress code would ban blue jeans and collarless shirts for students from kindergarten through high school.

Shirt colors would be limited to solid white, red and navy blue. Trousers and skirts would have to be solid black, navy or khaki.

Both of Belleville’s public high schools began requiring uniform dress last fall.

District 201 administrators reported suspensions, expulsions, fighting and other violations are down in Belleville’s high schools since a stricter dress code was imposed.

But student resistance to dress rules is higher. Dress code violations in District 201 are up 670 percent from last year.

Contact Jayne Matthews at jmatthews@bnd.com or 345-7822, ext. 25.

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