By Horatio Glover ’26
To address the ongoing dress code violations at Derby High School, the Derby Board of Education (BOE) has begun exploring implementing school uniforms to Derby. Even though the last revision to the dress code was as recent as April of 2023 to allow more lenient dressing, students still have been violating the dress code which has left the administration distracted and has taken time away from learning.
The BOE made changes to dress code, which includes items that were previously restricted, such as spandex, ripped jeans (as long as there isn’t excessive exposure of skin and/or undergarments), and clarifies the acceptable length for shorts and skirts. These changes were made due to a group of DHS students, “doing it the right way perhaps was the reason the BOE) modified some of the dress code policies,” Vice Principal Ray Coplin said.
However, the most common violations are the ones that weren’t changed. ”The two things which the board was really consistent on that they did not want to change were hats, hoods, durags, bonnets, and any headgear because they area safety issue. We really need to be able to identify if you are a student. Students concealing their head and face can really be an issue. Secondly, midriff shirts. Those were the two big things the kids had asked for but, the board had said they were not ready to go there,” said Principal Jennifer Olson. Another issue is pajamas, slippers, blankets, and other sleepwear worn as clothing. As a result, too much time has been taken away from the administration due to them having to repeatedly tell students about the dress code.
Moving Derby Public Schools to a uniform district has been brought up as a solution to combat these problems. However, there’s nothing officially confirmed to move the schools into uniforms and it is still early in the process. Nothing is final Derby was originally brought up about 20 years ago in 2004, but didn’t move forward. If implanted the plan was to implement a uniform from kindergarten through grade 12 in an attempt to eliminate competition and promote a better learning environment. If a dress code was to be in place it would take policies from neighboring Ansonia and Bridgeport Public Schools.
A meeting about the school uniforms could take place at a BOE meeting in October, which is open to the public for both parents and students.
The Raider Press 