Hello everyone! 

Our Baldwin County Board of Education has created a very strict dress code, making it hard to find clothes that we are both confident and comfortable in, that fit the criteria. This generally affects the female students in the school, as we can not wear biker shorts, can not show cleavage, can not show our thighs above our fingertips, or mid thigh, whichever comes first, can not wear leggings without a shirt that reaches our fingertips, yet, we can not wear shirts that are too tight or too loose, etc. Yes, this dress code applies to everyone. Though as you can see, this is generally directed to females and female clothing.

This strict dress code is in line to create a “distracting-free environment” to the students and staff. If fellow students and staff are getting distracted by our clothes and our bodies inside of them, why are we being held responsible for their wandering eyes? Having this very strict dress code, allows for more figures of authority to continue judging students off their clothes and the bodies inside of them, creating a distraction. Failure in complying with this dress code can result in removal from class to change or getting sent home, amongst other consequences, also creating a distraction. This can also result in moving to uniforms, where students will be prohibited to express themselves. Let’s change the code, not the code change us!

As a young woman myself, I did not ask for my body. I did not come into this world knowing when I was going to physically mature and what I was going to get. For example, the dress code rule stating, no showing cleavage, singles out the young women that have cleavage and the young women who don’t. And like I said before, we didn’t ask for our bodies. I have been dress coded and pulled to the side and told to go change my clothes, taking time out of my classes and education to accommodate others. When being dress coded by male staff, I tend to get really uncomfortable considering they took time out of their day to look at my clothes and my body and tell me what is wrong with it and what needs to change. I don’t like having that uncomfortable feeling and I can assume other students don’t as well.

Moving forward, this petition will help us alter our dress code to a more easily attainable one. Resulting in less dress code violations, more time in class and time for our education as we will not be pulled out of class or sent home to go change as frequently. This will also result in fewer students feeling uncomfortable when being dress coded for their clothes and their bodies inside them.

We should not only worry about creating a distraction-free environment for others, but creating an environment that students feel comfortable and safe in. Please help us by just simply signing this petition! If you want change, BE THE CHANGE!