Cleveland, TX ISD has decided to make many changes in their policy this year regarding safety, but one of the changes made was right before school starting up; banning all hooded clothing items and head gear. This includes hoodies, raincoats, any jackets with a hood, beanies, ball caps, and hats of any sort. 

Cleveland ISD gave the reason of banning such items was to keep students and staff members from hiding their identity, (though we have a system called SMART tag that assist with identifying students and staff and is used many times throughout the day and we’re required to have the card with us at all times), and to prevent contraband and weapons from entering the school. 

The other policy change was they were going to do random security checks, metal detection, and security dog checks. 

This policy put many students, parents, and staff in a financial bind to try and get different clothing items before school starting because this change was made after many have done back to school shopping over summer break. 

The reason we are making this petition is to bring back hoodies, raincoats, and other weather gear because as the fall and winter season comes, many students and staff will not have a way to stay warm and dry from weather changes to prevent getting sick. 

Many students also explained the main reason they wear hoodies daily is to be comfortable with how they look (“maturing” wise) and be warm in classrooms that have very cold air conditioning. 

I am hoping as a community we can come together the Cleveland, Texas way, in order to help our children be comfortable, healthy, and safe, while educating themselves for the future.