BOARD POLICY - 5132
The Governing Board believes that appropriate school wear and grooming is primarily a matter of determination by the parents and the students. All students of the Irvine Unified School District shall attend school and school functions dressed in a manner that is clean and not hazardous to their safety nor disruptive to instruction.
The purpose of student dress and appearance regulations is to encourage students to dress appropriately and attend school properly prepared for participation in the educational process. Guidelines also serve to prevent disruption of the classroom atmosphere, to eliminate disturbances and distractions among students, and to protect the safety, health and welfare of the individual student.
Students and parents/guardians shall be informed about dress and grooming standards at the beginning of the school year and whenever these standards are revised. A student who violates these standards shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.
The principal, staff and parents/guardians at a school may establish a reasonable dress code that prohibits students from wearing gang-related apparel when there is evidence of a gang presence that disrupts or threatens to disrupt the school's activities.
In order to promote student safety and discourage theft, peer rivalry and/or gang activity, the principal, staff and parents/guardians at a school may establish a reasonable dress code requiring students to wear uniforms. Such a dress code may be included as part of the school safety plan and must be presented to the Board for approval. The Board shall approve the plan upon determining that it is necessary to protect the health and safety of the school's students.
If uniforms are part of a school's adopted dress code plan, the Superintendent or designee shall establish procedures whereby parents/guardians may choose to have their children exempted from the school uniform policy. Students shall not be penalized academically, otherwise discriminated against or denied attendance to school if their parents/guardians so decide. (Education Code 35183)
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that resources are identified to assist economically disadvantaged students in obtaining uniforms.
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
35183 School dress codes; uniforms
32281 School safety plans
48907 Student exercise of free expression
49066 Grades; effect of physical education class apparel
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
302 Pupils to be neat and clean on entering school
Hartzell v. Connell (1984) 35 Cal. 3d 899
Arcadia Unified School District v. California Department of Education, (1992) 2 Cal. 4th 251
Marvin H. Jeglin et al v. San Jacinto Unified School District et al 827 F.Supp. 1459 (C.D. Cal. 1993)
Adopted: May 21, 1996
Revised: June 27, 2017
Administrative Regulation 5132: Dress and Personal Appearance