SSA and SLC: Not All School Policies Are Created Equal!

April 25, 2007 (Nashville, TN)—Last night’s presentation to the Metro school board about the school system’s planned implementation of Small Learning Communities (SLC) stood in stark contrast to the recently approved concept of Standard School Attire (SSA). While school board members and MNPS Director Garcia himself spoke in favor of redesigning high schools into individual, personalized communities, they seem to have forgotten that the basic philosophy behind SLC is in direct opposition to the principles behind SSA, points out parent advocate group MPASS.

“Small learning communities that are implemented correctly have been shown to improve student achievement,” said MPASS member Diane Willard. “Unlike the school uniform program, this reform is grounded in research and based on facts.”

Other hallmarks of SLC include a grassroots, nonadministration-driven approach; wholesale involvement of parents and community; and—most importantly—recognition of and respect for each school’s individuality. Those presenting SLC information to the school board last night emphasized that SLC is about schools making decisions for themselves—“What works at White’s Creek might not work at McGavock”—and that each school will have autonomy in its efforts to improve student achievement. School board member Gracie Porter commented that she was glad each school would look different, while school board chair Marsha Warden commended the reform’s reliance upon best practices in education—again, another striking difference between SLC and the planned implementation of SSA, which flies in the face of state and national guidelines regarding school uniform policy.

“Our schools are not one-size-fits-all,” said MPASS member Laura Creekmore. “Why does the school board recognize this when discussing small learning communities, but ignore it when it comes to school uniforms? There is an underlying inconsistency in philosophy here.”


Moral Opt-Out a Must
MNPS will most likely present a final proposed uniform policy to the school board in upcoming weeks. Director Garcia has indicated that he has no intention of including an opt-out policy for those who object to school uniforms on moral, philosophical, or conscientious grounds. But his claim that an opt-out will hamper the policy is not based in fact. The very districts held up by the administration in promoting SSA—Memphis and Long Beach, CA—have broad opt-out policies. Memphis has not released its opt-out data, but Long Beach reports that only 2 percent of parents choose to opt out of the program. In a district the size of MNPS, that would come to about 1,480 of 74,000 students, too small a number to have any effect on the overall policy—but significant enough to indicate to parents that their personal beliefs are being respected.

“Other districts have found it wise to include this kind of opt-out,” says MPASS member Ashley Crownover. “NYC, Miami, the entire state of California—all these districts have an opt-out, presumably because they don’t want to be sued for violating parents’ rights.”

A number of legal cases are currently underway throughout the United States regarding parents being forced to adhere to a school uniform policy they do not believe in. According to a legal analysis conducted by the ACLU of Tennessee, the policy’s current opt-outs for medical and religious reasons threaten students’ legally protected rights to privacy. Students are given the ability to obtain an exemption for medical reasons, but the burden is then placed on the student to reveal confidential health information to school administrators in order to justify an exemption.

Further, the existing policy raises important concerns about possible infringements on students’ religious freedom. Although there is a religious exemption, it is narrowly constructed to include only “bona fide” religions as determined by a school administrator. School officials will exceed their bounds should they try to make such judgments, and doing so will invite legal challenges under the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

“These potentially serious legal problems could most likely be avoided with an opt-out for moral, philosophical, or conscientious reasons,” said MPASS member Ashley Crownover. “We hope the school board will show that they care about ALL Metro families, not just those who believe as they do, and insist on a moral opt-out.”