RISING LYNNFIELD HIGH SCHOOL seniors, from left, Emma Rose, Ella Hayman and Maeve Donovan discussed the revised dress code policy during the School Committee’s July 23 meeting.

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — Three Lynnfield High School seniors, a teacher and community members provided feedback about the revised dress code policy during the School Committee’s July 23 meeting.

School Committee member Jim Dillon, who serves on the Policy Subcommittee, gave an overview of the revised dress code policy. The School Committee began a discussion about updating Policy JICA in late June.

“When students are dressed appropriately for school, the school atmosphere and culture is more pleasant and conducive to learning,” said Dillon while reading the revised dress code policy. “For this reason, items of dress which are disruptive to the educational process, or which represent a safety hazard, may not be worn. The guidelines of this policy will be enforced by the school administration.”

Dillon said the revised dress code policy would prohibit students in grades K-12 from wearing caps, hats and hoods in school. He also said the policy also seeks to prohibit students from wearing “sleepwear, sunglasses and clothing that promotes or pictures illegal activity, violent behavior, sexual subjects or innuendos, obscene language or gang symbols.”

Additionally, Dillon said the revised dress code policy would prohibit students from wearing “clothing or accessories that display lewd, vulgar or plainly offensive language or symbols, or promotes the use of alcohol, illegal drugs or tobacco products.” He also said the policy seeks to prohibit “clothing that is revealing the genital area or buttocks; undergarments worn as clothing; and clothing or jewelry that is disparaging to others in the school environment and contains slurs regarding race, ethnicity, religion, disabilities, gender or sexual orientation.”

“Exceptions to the above guidelines will be granted for students due to religious or medical reasons,” said Dillon. “Exceptions may also be granted by administration for special occasions such as Spirit Week or classroom celebrations.”

Dillon said the revised dress code policy includes disciplinary measures if a student violates it. He said school principals will “have the right to ask students to change their attire if it disrupts the educational environment.”

Rising LHS seniors Maeve Donovan, Ella Hayman and Emma Rose read a statement that gave an overview of their experiences dealing with the old dress code. The three students urged a prior incarnation of the School Committee to update the previous dress code policy three years ago because it was unfair towards girls and was being unequally enforced.

“We first initiated the process of changing the dress code in 2021, our final year of middle school, yet the prior policy had been affecting us and our peers since we started at Lynnfield Middle School in fifth grade,” said Ella, who is School Committee member Jamie Hayman’s daughter. “The previous dress code policy was outdated, unrealistic and biased towards female students. As a 10-year-old fifth-grader, I was told that my tank top was inappropriate and was asked to put on a sweatshirt despite the heat.”

Emma agreed.

“The policy was not equally enforced,” said Emma. “We watched as teachers called out girls in front of the entire class for a tank top, yet turned a blind eye when boys showed up to school also in tank tops. After one specific incident, we decided enough was enough. That night, we gathered a group of 10 to 15 girls, and together we created a presentation detailing why the dress code needed to be changed. We did thorough research and found various examples of dress codes that would be more equitable for all students. We presented this to the principal and superintendent, and then created a video presentation to present to the School Committee along with an outline for a new dress code. The new dress code was passed on Aug. 31, 2021 and can be found in the Student Handbook.”

Maeve said, “One of the most pressing issues that students and teachers are currently facing is the mental health crisis.”

“As a committee, you have stated that student mental health is a priority, and it seems imperative that you understand the impact this dress code can have on a student’s mental well-being,” said Maeve. “When discussing young girls and teens’ mental health, body image constantly comes up as a topic of conversation. According to the National Organization for Women, 53 percent of American girls are ‘unhappy with their bodies’ at age 13. This statistic jumps to 78 percent by the age of 17.”

Ella echoed Maeve’s sentiment.

“By telling a student in middle school, particularly a female student, that she needs to cover up, you are teaching her that her body is a distraction,” said Ella. “If an article of clothing truly is distracting due to obscenities, then the teacher can discreetly have a conversation with their student away from the class. Determining what is appropriate is extremely subjective, and must be approached delicately. One teacher may find a shirt inappropriate, whereas another may not have an issue with it. Students have different body types, causing clothing to fit differently on everyone. Middle school, where the dress code has had the most impact, is already a challenging time, as students are beginning to mature. No one wants to make that experience any harder than it needs to be.”

Emma said the School Committee’s discussion about the revised dress code policy is an “important conversation that directly impacts LMS and LHS students.”

“We believe student opinions and perspectives deserve to be heard,” said Emma. “Along those lines, we are concerned that the policy is being revised over the summer when many families are away and not plugged into what may be going on with the day-to-day operations of Lynnfield Public Schools. Yes technology allows for connection during vacation weeks and summer break, but there hasn’t been any outreach communication about this topic directly to students or families that we are aware of. We are not implying that students need to be directly involved in every policy change, but we would encourage this committee to engage with LHS students and solicit feedback to learn about LHS culture and what actually goes on at our school. A policy change during the summer limits the ability to have students’ voices heard and we find that very disappointing. We would like this committee to really focus on the needs of high school students. The dress code could have been an opportunity for open conversation with the Student Council and the Superintendent’s Advisory Council so that committee members could gather information from students and get a better understanding of how students are feeling and what our needs are right now.”

Maeve said the revised dress code policy is a “much better alternative than the original proposal from a few weeks ago.”  She also said the three classmates “understand that change is necessary and we must adapt to what will work best for the classroom.”

“We just want the people making these changes to understand the impact they will have,” said Maeve.

Ella said that the “dress code change in 2021 was a prime example of the School Committee listening to student advocacy.”

“We hope this new committee continues to hear and consider students’ voices,” said Ella. “Your decisions will have an impact on all the students in the district.”

School Committee Chair Kate DePrizio thanked Maeve, Ella and Emma for weighing in on the revised dress code policy. She said the initial discussion about the policy change was a first draft, and a component of that version that pertained to the chest and abdomen was removed.

“We don’t want you to be called out in a classroom,” said DePrizio. “I completely appreciate and empathize with how humiliating and undermining that is. The goal for this policy is to create a little more balance.”

In response to a question from School Committee Vice Chair Kristen Grieco Elworthy, Ella said the revised dress code policy is “good.”

Middle school sixth grade math teacher Cynthia O’Neil said the current dress code policy required her to create a classroom guideline that prohibited hats and hoods from being worn. She said it was a “battle to fight.”

“Implementing this classroom guideline was both exhausting and time-consuming because, in some cases, I was having the same discussions with the same students on a daily basis,” said O’Neil.

O’Neil said the revised dress code policy will allow students to wear flannel pajama pants even though sleepwear will be prohibited.

“If flannel pajama pants are going to be an exception, it should be included in the policy,” said O’Neil.

Pyburn Road resident Allison Donahue said she supports the revised dress code policy.

“We have heard a lot about how telling girls what they should or should not wear impacts their mental health and their confidence and self-esteem, and that school should be a supportive environment where they can learn and be their best selves,” said Donahue. “I think it is very important that we look at it from the other perspective. The clothes that girls are wearing that may or may not be appropriate — it’s subjective — impact other kids who may not have the body shape to wear it, and that impacts their mental health and their well-being.”

Village Row resident Christina Hayman said it’s not the School Department’s “position to be dictating to our children, particularly our girls, what is appropriate for their body type.”

“On the point of distraction, I once had a conversation with a friend who has a son,” said Christina. “He said to me, ‘it’s not on the girls to not be distracting, it’s on my son to not be distracted by the girls.’ And the same goes for girls. It’s on the girls to not be distracted by the boys.”

A group of attendees gave Christina a round of applause.

After the students and parents weighed in on the revised dress code policy, Dillon said the language around sleepwear should be clarified. He also said language around prohibiting swimwear should be added into the policy.

School Committeeman Jamie Hayman said he supported clarifying the policy’s language around sleepwear and incorporating swimwear into it.

The School Committee will be voting on the revised dress code policy on Wednesday, Aug. 7.