Uniform debate rages in Fruitland

By JESSICA KELLER - ARGUS OBSERVER
Sunday, August 12, 2007 2:48 AM PDT

FRUITLAND - Even with the start of school only weeks away and the Fruitland School District dress code policy firmly in place, the debate continues to rage in the community about the newly-created requirements.

Cameron McLaughlin, a recent Fruitland High School graduate and vocal opponent of the dress code since the idea was first introduced, and a few others have not given up their pursuit to get the policy overturned.

They have been busy the past two weeks collecting signatures for petitions they intend to present to the Fruitland School Board at Monday’s board meeting.

As of Friday, McLaughlin said 28 people have signed his latest petition, and he did not know how many other signatures others have collected. McLaughlin had originally presented another petition to the public the week before and gathered even more signatures, but he said he and his group of supporters decided to revise the petition to make it more specific.

He said the first petition was broad and simply asked the School Board to overturn the policy. After discussing it further, McLaughlin said, his group decided to reword the petition to request the School Board to create an “opt-out” policy on the current dress code and go out for a public vote to ask the community what it wants.

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“We just wanted the public to be given more of a voice rather than redo the entire decision,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin maintains the School Board never gave the public a fair chance to voice opinions on the matter before making the decision. He said during the public hearing he attended in March, uniforms were already being presented. The board made a final decision on the dress code policy in May. McLaughlin said a lot of people were “disenfranchised” in the process.

The School Board did send out surveys through the mail to district residents asking whether they were in favor or against a school uniform policy. Of the 445 responses received, 250 were in favor of the policy. McLaughlin said, however, he does not think surveys were the best method of gaining public opinion, adding an actual vote in an election is more official and professional. He said with surveys, there is too much room for doubt on how they are counted. He also said he feels the school district should have held more public hearings on the matter.

“I think there could have been a more effective way to get the word out there and to get people to vote,” McLaughlin said.

According to the dress code, students must wear collared shirts — no crew, T-shirts or Henleys — and they must be tucked in if they were made to be tucked in. All shirts must have sleeves, and they can’t have brand logos, graphics or numbers/letters on them other than those pertaining to the school district. They must be solid colors in black, orange, white or gray. Jeans are not permitted, and slacks or skirts can only be black or khaki in color. Skirts cannot be shorter than four inches above the knee, and all articles of clothing must fit properly.

School district officials assert the dress code will hopefully prevent gang activity and incidents from taking place on school campuses and detract nonschool-related visitors from coming to campus and interacting with students. Gangs often identify themselves through certain clothing styles and brands with logos and through colors. They also contend it will prevent students from dressing inappropriately. McLaughlin said he thought the current uniforms “are a big violation in freedom of speech and American will.” He also said he doesn’t think a uniform policy will prevent gang violence or keep non-students from coming onto school property.

“I don’t think that changing the clothing is going to change anything,” he said.

McLaughlin said he is also not satisfied the school policy will allow students to express political or religious viewpoints, either on pins or clothing. He said when he asked Fruitland School Board Chairperson Shawna Pierson about the matter, recently, she said they would not be permitted.

McLaughlin said he has contacted an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union in Boise, who is looking into the issue. Pierson said, however, the school board has not discussed pins or jewelry with political or religious messages specifically, nor have they made a decision stating they would not be allowed to wear them.

Fruitland School Superintendent Alan Felgenhauer said students would be allowed to wear whatever the dress code permits, but a lot of situations will be addressed individually.

“We’re just trying to tighten things up,” he said. “Obviously we’re going to have to look at things case by case.”

He said the School Board will revisit the dress code policy sometime during or at the end of the school year, and adjustments may have to be made.

“We’ve never tried to tell anybody that this is going to completely make our schools safe 100 percent,” Felgenhauer said, adding if it makes the school’s a little bit safer and helps cut down on inappropriate dress, he’ll be happy.

“We’re committed to trying it a bit and reviewing it on an on-going basis,” he said.