Dear Ocean Springs School District, 

 I am writing this letter in ¨in school isolation¨ aka ISI because an administrator decided the length of my shorts was more important than my education. This issue is not only subject to her. The Ocean Springs School District puts compliance above education. Rules and frivolous write-ups are placed above instruction. According to Probublica.org, 5% of students are placed in Out of School suspension, 18% of students are placed in-school suspension, and 3% of students are expelled From Ocean Springs High School. The Students in suspension are not receiving the ¨State’s best¨ education, which Ocean Springs High School claims to Offer.

The dress code put in place by Ocean Springs High School negatively affects students' mental health and education, especially students in minority groups. According to ProPublica.org Black students are 2.2 times more likely to be suspended, Native American or Alaskan Native students are 3.1 times more likely to be suspended, and students of color are 1.6 times more likely to be faced with discipline issues. This is a common occurrence in schools with strict dress codes. This statistic is from kappanonline.org, which creates a visual of how Students of color are disproportionately affected by dress codes.

 

 

 

 

Students of color are not the only students who are negatively affected by the dress code. Statistics show that more than 90% of dress codes have rules that forbid clothing traditionally worn by females, while only 69% of dress codes have rules that apply to clothing traditionally worn by males. This is an issue because it dehumanizes and sexualizes female students. Faith Cardillo a 12th-grade student at union high school in New Jersey says "There can't be any skin showing, It's very one-sided and very sexist, to say the least, no matter what. The reasoning that they usually give is so that way you're not distracting anyone.". A common reason for dress code restrictions is on the means of ¨distraction¨. Thisisgendered.org emphasizes that the word “distract” or “disrupt” is found in 76% of US school dress codes. The article titled ¨Dress Code¨ thisisgendered.org exclaims¨ The assumption underlying this line of reasoning is that the responsibility to prevent distractions is on girls – an assumption that fuels victim-blaming discourses (“what was she wearing?”) in cases of sexual harassment, as well as the idea that men cannot control themselves when seeing a woman showing skin.¨ The idea that female students' clothing is ¨distracting¨ places male education over female, when a student's clothing violates the dress code in Ocean Springs High School they are sent to the office and then most likely in school suspension where they will not be receiving the same education as they would in the classroom. When female students don’t receive the same educational opportunities as male students it continues the oppression we see later on in the workplace. According to teamstadge.io as of 2023 42% of women claim that they have faced workplace discrimination based on gender. When discrimination based on gender is prominent in an educational environment, it becomes more normalized in a workplace environment. Marci Kutzer, an educator at Bertha Rozone Elementary states that dress codes send the message of "A boy's education can be compromised by your gender. Please do what you can to neutralize it.". 

 The fingertip length rule is one of the most common dress code rules and is also the reason for my suspension. The rule states that all shorts, skirts, and dresses must go to or past the tips of your fingertips. This rule seems simple enough, but it affects some students more harshly than others. Nikki Belsham a parent in Duval County Florida says “Take a tall, skinny 12-year-old girl—her shorts may not pass this finger length test and would be considered inappropriate for school, even though her butt is covered and the shorts are relatively long,” The images below are of the shorts that were deemed inappropriate due to the fingertip rule.

 

 

Even though the shorts covered my rear and came down close to my knees because I am above average height and have arms that are approximately 27 inches long which is 2 inches above the average length of human arms. This rule is unfair because students who are taller or have longer limbs are more restricted than others. The Personal Appearance Regulations put in place by Ocean Springs High School states that ¨Shorts and skirts of moderate length may be worn.¨. This extremely vague rule says nothing about any clothing being of fingertip length, so it is unjust that I and many others have been subjected to the rule

Studies show that Dress codes can negatively affect students' mental health. In the article written by Madeline Cuddihy entitled ¨Are strict dress codes hurting teens' mental health?¨ co-author, Alexandra Brodsky states that “dress codes make particularly young girls self-conscious of their bodies in a way that really puts a burden on them from a very young age.". Young girls today are already more self-conscious than ever, due to social media and pressure to follow the ever-changing impossible beauty standard. The effect of feeling constantly anxious that you may be subject to discriminatory rules is horrific. It’s no secret that mental health in teenagers is at an all-time low. World Health Organisation expresses that 1-7 people in the age range of 10-19 experience one or more mental health conditions. 8.2% of adolescents experience some kind of anxiety disorder. An article written by Thisisgendered.org expresses that studies show that being overly self-conscious about one's appearance can lead to low self-esteem, depression, a greater chance of developing disordered eating habits, and can have a negative effect on cognitive tasks like math tests. 

There is no proven link between the clothing students wears and grades or test scores. The National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 experimented to find out if dress codes/ uniforms benefited academic performance. The study showed that the 10th graders who were made to wear uniforms performance on standardized tests actually had an average decrease of 3 points. This study disproves the idea that restricting what students wear will benefit them academically. 

Dress codes have been proven to be harmful to students. The dress code in Ocean Springs High School is antiquated and enforces the systemic oppression of students of color and female students. The dress code is also unequally enforced and unfair to many students with different body types.Rethinkingschools.org suggests that ¨However well-intentioned, dress codes are a perfect example of an educational policy that puts compliance before learning¨. A school's main priority should be education, not conformity.

Many students who attend Ocean Springs and other schools nationwide have spoken out against tyrannical dress codes. The images below are student protest signs against dress codes.

 

 

The fact is wearing a tank top, ripped jeans or shorts does not affect anyone’s ability to learn. School is supposed to be a place where students can learn without being targeted, and with the dress code being what it is, school has become a place students dread. That is why I am writing this letter, The school district may not listen to only 1 student and that is why I am creating a virtual petition to abolish the dress code in Ocean Springs School District. This petition is going to be the voice of our students and together we can make Ocean Springs a great place to learn.

Sincerely- Patricia (Trish) Hammond