Waterbury Public Schools have had a strict dress code for Many, Many years limiting students to what they can wear. The common uniform in The waterbury district consists of Khaki or Black pants and a white/black/blue collared shirt, With Restrictions towards wearing any type of jacket, hoodie, or sweatshirt in school to keep the students warm! Winter is now approaching and the weather is getting chilly. Most students haven’t been receiving locker use at all due to covid-19 so they have nowhere to put they’re jackets so many of them can’t/won’t wear one at the bus stop because they will have to carry it everywhere they go, and can’t wear it because of the dress code policy which will cause students to get sick!

We (The WPS Students) are creating this petition to fight against dress code and atleast revise the restrictions for the use of Sweaters, Sweatshirts, and hoodie’s. We feel we should be able to wear hoodies to help make us feel more comfortable in the learning atmosphere to help promote education and keep us warm, especially during winter to prevent sickness. 
We would like to see the revised dress code as..

Hoodies, Sweatshirts, Crew necks, Vests, Fleeces and light jackets with minimal designs and logos may be worn on top of any dress code top

*We agree to not where the hood of any hoodie, Jacket or sweatshirt that has an attached hood while in school*

Dress codes are very costly especially now since everyone is going back to school after being online and in person for a whole school year, Stores are running out of uniforms and some low income families just simply can’t afford wasting the extra money on clothes just for school! Most students already Own a hoodie or jacket of some sort but is against the current dress code which requires students to purchase yet another piece of clothing just for school to stay warm! Which is a waste of money since most of us already have jackets and hoodies! We demand a revision of dress code to be more considerate of little things like this.

Waterbury Board of Ed claims that dress codes are set in place to promote non distraction learning as stated in the Kennedy School student hand book…

"The Board of Education has determined that reasonable regulation of school attire can contribute to a positive learning environment in the following manner:
(1) Reducing distraction and minimizing disruption in the classroom.                                                     (2) Providing an environment where students can focus on learning;
(3) Creating an atmosphere reflecting the seriousness of purpose about education;
(4) Reflecting a level of respect one has for oneself, one’s peers and respect for one’s school. (5) Creating a greater sense of community amongst the students;
(6) Preparing students for future roles as responsible members of the community"

As all students and most parents know Uniforms are not comfortable at all and wearing a jacket, hoodie, or sweatshirt can make students feel more and will help promote education and learning without distractions. While speaking of distractions, When a student is wearing a jacket, hoodie, sweatshirt… teachers take time away from class to make that student leave class and change which is distracting the whole class and by a student wearing a sweatshirt, the sweatshirt won’t distract a classmate as bad as a teacher stopping class to make that said student leave the class and change!

We demand a change in dress code!!