Currently, the D201 uniform only allows khaki bottoms. This archaic uniform requirement disproportionately affects students with a uterus and lower-income students.

Students have been calling for this change for years, last year the movement gained steam and the parents are trying to help make this happen before school begins. 

 

What the students want:

The students are asking the School Board for simple, respectful action.

1. Immediately add black bottoms to the current uniform policy
2. Stop making up excuses to avoid this important discussion 
3. Actually work with students, teachers, and parents to re-evaluate the current policy and create a new one that honestly considers the community's input
   • Include in this evaluation, the ability for students to wear leggings that are not see-through or worn-thin as part of the uniform
   • Look to other local school districts to understand what their uniform or dress policies entail, why they are that and how they worked with students to make them

 

Background on the Uniform Policy and it's impact.

For at least the last 4 years, students at the Morton High Schools have called for the same change. The D201 School Board (50% male) have failed to act beyond starting conversations that have never been finished. The Superintendent claims he needs more input.

Last year, the D100 School Board (90% female) quickly decided to add black bottoms to their middle school uniforms in less than a month before school. D100 is one of the feeder districts into D201.

 

How does this uniform policy affect students?

Khaki pants, more than almost any other kind of clothing, show the slightest mark of dirt, stain, or bleed-through. They cannot easily be laundered. If a stain sets in, Khakis cannot be bleached or re-dyed to extend life. Most stores only stock them at the beginning of the year, which means families have an extremely challenging time replacing them when dirt, stains, bleed-through happens, or their student has a growth spurt. Because they are hard to maintain, they are rarely available second-hand, causing lower-income families to pay an extremely high percentage of their income toward clothing that is not sustainable or long-lasting for their family members.

Many students report that they can't fit comfortably in the uniform bottoms. tall students who wear skirts often get flagged for uniform violations because their skirt is too short. Khaki limits the options students have access to, whereas black bottoms would allow students more variety of skirt and pant lengths year-round and in thrift stores to better stay in line with the uniform policy requirements.

For a menstruating person, bleed-through can happen anytime, no matter the age, or how well they monitor/manage their period -- there is no way to 100% prevent bleed-through. For young adults who are still developing their self-confidence, bleed-through can trigger a significant crisis for a student affecting their social and educational well-being. The school's solution for bleed-through only draws more attention to the situation, rather than providing a way to minimize the situation and give students dignity in the middle of a crisis. Most menstruating individuals prefer to wear black bottoms during their period to minimize signs of bleed-through and have more options for comfort when experiencing cramps and bloating.

Students today have far more concerns and challenges to worry about. Between school shootings, covid, family financial struggles and simply learning to navigate the world. The clothes they spend the majority of their day and learning in should not add to their stress and anxiety. 

 

How does it affect teachers?

Teachers both in and around the D201 community have spoken up many times in support of changing the uniform. Currently, many teachers have invested their own money to keep hoodies and sometimes a change of clothing on hand for the students. 

 

Uniform Policy + Bathroom Policy = Arguably violates Title IX, the Illinois Constitution, and the Child Mental Health Act of 2003

Morton School District also adopted a bathroom policy that requires every student be escorted to the bathroom if they need to go during a class period. These escorts are Student Resource Officers (police officers - the majority of whom are men). Students report that the wait for an SRO escort can take up to 30 minutes. Any wait can result in bleed-through, but a 30-minute wait is guaranteed to cause bleed-through to occur.

The combination of the uniform policy and the bathroom policy means uterus-owning students are all but guaranteed to bleed through at least once during their education experience at Morton. Many students report multiple bleed-through events occurring in a year. The unintended consequence of the facially neutral uniform and bathroom policies causes a disparate impact on uterus-owning students' equal access to education, which is protected under Title IX.

Additionally, we can see how preventing students from managing their menstruation situation with appropriate clothing that minimizes their embarrassment, class absences, and access to learning could also violate the Illinois constitution which requires schools to provide an SEL curriculum and program that promotes students' self-regulation and self-management. 

 

What does the school offer students who bleed through?

The school offers the following solutions should bleed-through or any other spill happen to occur:

1. Keep a change of clothes in their locker
2. Tie a hoodie around their waist
3. Switch to their Gym Uniform
4. Call a parent to come help or take them home.

Each solution does significant harm to menstruating students, harm that non-uterus-owning students will never encounter. These harms can include any combination of these things and more:

• Students aren't allowed to wear anything around their waist. Therefore, the entire student body and faculty know that when a student has tied something around their waist student not only is on their period but they bled through their clothes. 
• Needing to change clothes or "manage" bleed-through often causes the student to be tardy to class. This gets the student a write-up and can lead to more severe disciplinary action including detentions and suspensions.
• Students will often choose to call parents to come to get them and take them home. This causes parents to leave their work early, affecting their financial and job security, and causes students to get an unexcused absence for the classes missed
• Missing class affects students' grades and performance and robs the students of their access to education
• Lower-income families with menstruating students are most severely impacted by the limited khaki-only requirement because they sit at the intersection of education discrimination and the financial burden to clean and replace khaki uniforms

Learn more about the students' efforts at the Cicero Independiente

Let's show these young adults that standing up for what's right is important and they can change their world for the better.