Chilliwack School Board passes new dress code policy months after controversy

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CHILLIWACK (NEWS 1130) – The days of telling girls that their clothing is too distracting for the classroom are hopefully over in Chilliwack.

After some serious amendments, the Chilliwack School Board has passed a new dress code policy.

The update comes after a number of trustees were criticized for comments that were called “victim shaming” during a debate in March, which singled out the way young girls dress.

The new guidelines add gender neutrality as a focus.

“These guidelines will address the need for inclusivity and gender neutrality, focus on safety rather than modesty, be accessible to parents, staff, and students,” Trustee Willow Reichelt said. “Be constructive rather than punitive so that correction or discipline is not required.”

She brought the original motion forward in March to ditch a dress code she and many others called discriminatory. Reichelt amended the policy to strengthen language around inclusivity and do away with language around appropriate attire.

“School dress codes should be about health and safety, not modesty, and should promote gender equity in both intention and practice,” she said.

The board reportedly received more than 1,200 messages offering feedback and ideas related to the policy. According to Reichelt, the majority were in support of scrapping gender-specific guidelines, and focusing instead on health and safety.

Board member Jared Mumford said the policy as submitted left too much room for interpretation.

“When I read lines in here, ‘Dress in a manner that is appropriate and conducive to positive as well as respectful learning,’ I don’t think spaghetti straps are unsafe or disrespectful, so I just wish that it was a bit more clear, a clear guideline.”

Concerns remain

Despite improvements, Reichelt says the new policy still falls short. Instead of a district-wide policy, schools will be able to set their own dress codes based on the new broad guidelines.

She believes that fact fails to recognize the role of parents in this whole debate

“Instead of modesty and appropriateness being placed in the hands of families, schools get to set these standards,” she said. “The only nod to the original intent is the inclusion of the phrase ‘gender neutrality.'”

While she still believes the policy can do better, most trustees supported the new regulations developed by the Education Policy Advisory Committee

Trustee Barry Neufeld expressed some confusion.

“It’s got that word ‘gender neutrality’ in there and I’m just wondering what that means. Does that mean that no student is allowed to wear a frilly dress? Will girls no longer be allowed to purchase gowns for the high school prom?”

https://youtu.be/1leXBnH784o?t=6008

In the end Nuefeld voted against an amended version of the dress code guidelines, which were passed by the board.

In March, Trustee Darrell Furgason said there should be a dress standard so students can focus on their minds rather than their bodies.

“Girls with cleavage exposed – you may think that’s their right,” he said. “There are many needy girls from families who may be victims of voyeurism.”

After suggesting that allowing girls to dress as they like would create a “free for all” for pimps and sexual predators that same week, Trustee Heather Maahs also said doing so would also cause a distraction in the classroom.

“You go to school to do a job,” Maahs said, “And in order to do that job, everybody has to not be distracted by any outside circumstances.”

-With files from Taran Parmar, Renee Bernard, and Toby Kerr

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