Signers: if you read nothing else in this description, read this. When Change.org asks you to donate, please be aware that the money won't go towards this petition, but rather towards the entire website.

Why am I writing this petition?

Throughout the past several years, I have seen several petitions and heard talk of several protests regarding the Dress Code policy in Mifflin County. All of these attempts at change have failed because they were held at a school level across either MCMS, MCJHS, or MCHS, as well as because they never explicitly stated what changes they wanted to be made. This petition is addressed to administration at the district level, as they have authority to create changes to the dress code, and states specific changes that we as students and teachers feel that we need to see.

What is a fair Dress Code?

1. A fair Dress Code limits students' clothing enough to create a healthy learning environment by eliminating distractions and garments that are inappropriate for a learning environment. It does not hinder students' ability to express themselves in school appropriate ways.
2. It treats all students equal, meaning if one student can wear something, all students can wear it, and if one student cannot, neither can the rest.
3. It is specific, so that students know what they can and cannot wear, rather than having to guess and get pulled out of class for wearing something that they  thought was okay. 

Where are the problems in ours?

A link to the Mifflin County School District Dress Code, which I will be referencing throughout this section.

1. In an attempt to limit distractions, our school district limits students' ability to express themselves, creating more distractions from kids being pulled out of class and an unhealthy learning environment where students don't feel free to be themselves. We have rules stating that "Hats, hoods, visors, and headbands with items protruding from them (i.e. horns, ears, etc.) are prohibited," "flags worn as capes, ears, horns, and tails are prohibited," and "Chains, wallet chains, and spiked jewelry are prohibited," with the reasoning that these things (apart from the spiked jewelry, which tends to be considered a weapon) are all distractions. We have no reason to believe this to be true, however, and most of the distraction comes solely from pulling students out of class. While it can be argued that some students may make comments about these items, it can also be brought up that I've worn a plain black tee-shirt and plain black pants and had my peers make comments about my outfit. In either case, the students making the distraction are the ones making the comments, not the ones wearing the clothes.
2. Our dress code is not equal. You hear a lot about inequality in dress codes, and ours certainly is not as bad as some, but we do still have our issues in this department. Most of the problem in Mifflin County is that we have rules that allow the teachers to decide them on a case-by-case basis (This will be discussed more in the next point.), allowing them to essentially make a different Dress Code for each student. For example, today my friend told me about a girl who got dress coded a couple years back because a teacher could see her ribs through her skin-tight shirt, and you often see students who weigh more get dress coded for wearing skin-tight clothing, but if your weight is in a sweet-spot in the middle, then you're allowed to wear that. 
3. Students cannot read the student handbook and figure out what clothes they can and cannot wear. Rules such as "Any garment that causes a substantial disruption of the educational program is prohibited," "Overly suggestive or revealing clothing which substantially interferes with the educational program is prohibited," and "Costumes, including but not limited to, capes, flags worn as capes, ears, horns, and tails are prohibited," are not specific, and can quite literally be used against any garment a student wears that a staff member wants them to change out of. Since a student doesn't necessarily know what each staff member deems as "causing a disruption," or "Overly suggestive or revealing," students get pulled out of class and told to change out of things that they, as well as their peers and other teachers, deem okay. I personally have had many run-ins with this rule, where something I wear doesn't inherently break any rule, but I'm still pulled out of class during instructional time and told to change, and many other students that I've spoken to have had the same problems.

What happens next?

We as students, teachers, ex-students and teachers, and family members of the Mifflin County School District would like to see the listed problems fixed for the upcoming 2023/24 school year. We would like to be able to express ourselves, be treated equally, and know the rules without having to break them.