HUNTINGTON BEACH : Dress Code Targets Gang-Style Clothes
Committees working on dress codes and discipline plans for the Huntington Beach City School District have come out with recommendations that would ban baggy pants, tube tops, hats, bandannas and aerosol cans.
The committees, made up of teachers, parents, community members and students, were formed at eight schools in September in an attempt to reflect community values.
The committees submitted their recommendations for student dress and conduct Tuesday to district trustees, who are expected to ratify individual plans in January.
In addition to a proposed ban on the clothes, the Ethel Dwyer Middle School committee wants to prohibit “inappropriate†T-shirts that have sexual connotations or promote violence or illegal acts.
The group at Isaac L. Sowers Middle School seeks to ban skateboards, roller skates, roller blades and mopeds on campus.
The Sowers group also would not allow gum-chewing on campus. Gum gets stuck under desks and on floors, is a health hazard and is similar to graffiti as a cleanup problem, an official said.
Most of the school panels opposed baggy clothes, saying that kind of attire is associated with gangs, according to officials.
Trustee Brian Garland said that youngsters wearing baggy clothes can be mistaken for gang members and be singled out for violence.
Garland also said that weapons could be hidden in the loose garments and that students could be put at risk.
“Parents should be able to send their kids to school with the knowledge that they are going to a safe environment,†he said. “We have to guarantee that.â€
Dwyer Principal Ian Collins said district schools have been free of gang violence and that the proposed codes, which seek to instill “a sense of safety and decency,†are an effort to head off possible future trouble.
“We are kid advocates in a wholesome sense,†Collins said. “We do not want them getting into harm’s way coming and going from school and being mistaken for gang members.â€
Trustee Shirley Carey said the recommendations for dress and discipline codes still provide flexibility at each of the schools.
She noted that there was no support for mandatory school uniforms from the committees, although several individuals had urged consideration of that step.
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