While Metro school board members voted last night to approve a proposed standard school attire policy, the discussion would have been much different had parents and other interested parties not been involved. The two school board members who voted against the policy—David Fox and Mark North—obviously based their decisions in part on the SSA “study” committee’s flawed process and the research showing that uniforms have no positive effect on students. Further, the school board also discussed legal ramifications and the opt-out policy, two important issues that our group has been instrumental in bringing to the fore.
We urge you to keep emailing the board to insist on an equitable opt-out program for those who object on principle to the uniforms called "standard school attire."
The students who spoke and attended last night are to be commended for their initiative and dedication to what they believe in. This is not something that everyone appreciates, and in fact, some of the youth felt attacked by the negative comments several speakers made about magnet schools and “perfect children.” We are proud of our students from both magnet and nonmagnet schools, and disappointed in a system that believes equity can come from oppression.
Thank you again for your commitment to this issue.
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MPASS must fight for unconditional parent opt-out as in NYC, Miami and the whole state of California. In reading public comments, it is obvious that about HALF are based on the assumption that most kids wear INAPPROPRIATE clothes to school NOW. So opt-outs should be conditioned on wearing APPROPRIATE, traditional school-kid clothes; those who violate regular dress codes should have to wear unis; this is a compromise MOST of your members could live with; I believe such a "
deal" can be negotiated by ACLU with the Board to avoid litigation---but you MAY have to threaten civil disobedience and mass suspensions too to swing the 3 more votes you need to get a deal done.
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