RSU 71, Belfast
Click HERE to view their policy.
Greely High School, Cumberland
DRESS CODE
Clothing that is unduly revealing and that detracts in any way from the educational purpose of the school is prohibited. Clothing prohibited includes articles that reveal undergarments, plunging necklines, bare midriffs, shorts or skirts deemed of inappropriate length for the school setting, strapless tops, or mesh/see-through clothing. In addition, the following items do NOT constitute acceptable school attire and are not allowed:
- Articles displaying indecent or offensive language/writing
- Articles that advertise or promote drugs, alcohol, or tobacco
- Articles that depict or suggest violence
- Articles that contain or suggest language or depictions derogatory to a person or group
What is considered unduly revealing and detracting from the educational purpose of the school, and thus inappropriate for the school setting, is ultimately up to the discretion of the Staff and Administration.
Dexter Regional High School, Dexter
Section 16: DRESS CODE
There is a definite relationship among good work ethic, proper school behavior, and good dress habits. Always, school clothing should be appropriate to time, place, and season. Every student is expected to come to school clean and neat in appearance and suitably dressed. Students may be sent home to change if their attire interferes with and/or detracts from the normal educational process and atmosphere of the school, or if it is offensive, or causes a disturbance.
- Health regulations require footwear at all times except in the locker rooms.
- Sunglasses and headgear (including hoods) will not be worn in the building at any time.
- Clothes bearing pictures or wording that are sexually suggestive, obscene, have dual meaning or inappropriate to school health teachings or rules are disallowed. In relation to the last, clothing promoting beer, alcohol, tobacco, or any drug is included.
- Clothing that is blatantly immodest is prohibited. (Example: No bare midriffs, underwear showing, short skirts/shorts, tank tops or cutoff sleeves, pajamas or similar attire)
- Clothing, footwear, insignia or accessories that are intended to identify the wearer as a member of a particular gang are prohibited.
- Outside coats and jackets are not to be brought into class without teacher permission.
- Blankets are not clothing and should not be worn in the building.
- Attire that constitutes a threat to safety is prohibited.
- No spaghetti strap tank tops, strapless/tube tops or see through clothing.
- Coaches may set more stringent standards of dress grooming for their players.
MSAD 20, Fort Fairfield
- Dress Code: MSAD #20 believes a neat and tastefully dressed student body, a standard set by the school, serves its interest as an institution of learning. Additionally, expectations of proper dress are a large part of the professional and work world and an inherent part of the mission of the school is to teach the personal responsibility in meeting those standards. We expect that all students dress appropriately and ask parents to aid us in this matter. What follows are rules, prohibitions, and rules of thumb to guide your selection of clothing when dressing for school. Refer to the visual below on the general dress code guidelines as well as the specific guidelines below:
- Dress appropriately for the occasion and the season.
- Articles of clothing which display tobacco, drugs or alcohol, guns or other firearms, or profane or suggestive slogans are not to be worn.
- Clothing using any form of logos from businesses that are inherently degrading and not in keeping with the standards of a public school will not be allowed.
- Underwear is not to be visible when moving, sitting or standing in a normal manner.
- All pants or shorts are to be fastened at the waist.
- Tops must cover the midriff. When standing with your arms straight out from your sides, no midriff is visible. Wearing a loose top to cover a short shirt is not acceptable. Crop tops will only be permitted if a tank top is underneath and covers all of the midsection.
- Tops worn cannot be revealing. Draw an imaginary line around the body at the armpit level – tops are not to dip below this line.
- The length of shorts or skirts is to be gauged by mid-thigh. Mid thigh is the halfway point between the knee and hip, with an inseam of 3-4 inches.
- Jeans or other articles of clothing with holes in them or “distressed” must comply with all of the above rules. If the holes are above mid-thigh, they must be patched accordingly.
- Formal events such as banquets and proms bring clothing styles that normally would not be allowed under the above rules, but are acceptable as long as the clothes are in keeping with the dressiness of the occasion.
- If you are genuinely in doubt about whether an article of clothing meets the standards or not, please do not wear it. For items of dress not covered above, the administration shall make a determination based on the spirit of this dress code.
- Dress Code for Graduation: Graduates must wear proper attire for this important ceremony.
- Appropriate attire would include dresses, skirts, dress pants, dress shirts, and dress shoes/sandals
- Students will not be allowed to wear shorts, flip flops, jeans, recreational sandals, work boots, and/or sunglasses.
Gray-New Gloucester Middle School, Gray
We eliminated the length of shorts and skirts and tried to make our policy simple and less biased towards one gender. This is what we have in our student handbook:
Clothing:
Clothing worn to school must foster an educational environment that is both safe and free from disruption in order to reflect an appropriate tone for our educational setting. The following standards set forth are designed to be consistent and fair and the middle school staff will determine if a student is in violation.
Students Must Wear:
- A Shirt with a minimum of a 1 inch wide strap and fabric that covers the entire front, back, and sides starting immediately under the armpits, AND
- Pants/jeans or the equivalent (ex. sweatpants, opaque leggings, or shorts), OR
- A dress or skirt, AND
- Shoes (as appropriate for the environment and activity).
Students Cannot Wear:
- Any clothing that significantly and intentionally reveals visible undergarments.
- Clothing or accessories displaying profanity, pornography, and violent language or images.
- Clothing or accessories considered unsafe, dangerous or a health hazard.
- Images or language depicting drugs or alcohol (or any illegal item or activity).
- Hate speech, images, or language that creates a hostile or intimidating environment based on any protected class or consistently marginalized groups.
- Hats, hoods, or masks except for approved COVID-19 face coverings or as a religious observance.
- Strapless tops or halter tops.
Students who violate these rules will be given the choice of changing the clothing, wearing it inside out or covering the clothing with another article of clothing.
Hermon High School, Hermon
DRESS AND GENERAL APPEARANCE
The Hermon School Department recognizes that responsibility for the dress and appearance of students rests with individual students and their parents/guardians. The Hermon School Committee will not interfere with this choice providing the personal choices of students and their parents/guardians do not create a disruptive influence on the school program, offend others, or affect the health or safety of others.
Students are encouraged to use sound judgment and reflect respect for themselves and others in dress and grooming. In keeping with the goals of the school system to provide a safe, healthy, and nondiscriminatory environment for educating students for maximum academic and social development, the following restrictions on dress shall be enforced.
- Non-transparent clothes must be worn in a way such that genitals, buttocks, nipples, and midriff (area between chest and waist) are covered. All shirts must have a shoulder strap. Clothing that reveals underwear is prohibited.
- No hats, hoods, or sunglasses may be worn during the school day, exceptions for religious, cultural, or medical issues may apply.
- Articles of clothing that promote the use of tobacco, alcohol, other drugs or illegal activities or clothing that violates the School Committee’s discrimination/harassment policy may not be worn on school grounds (when school is in session) or at other school-related functions.
- Clothing with displays/words that are vulgar, sexual, lewd, or indecent or include insulting words, e.g., racial/ethnic slurs, is impermissible.
- Clothing that is destructive to school property, e.g., cleats, pants with metal inserts that may scratch furniture, is not permitted.
- Gang-related clothing and insignia including but are not limited to wearing displays of “colors”, flags, bandanas, symbols, signs, emblems, or any article of clothing, jewelry, footwear, or another item that is evidence of membership, promotion, or affiliation in a gang are not allowed in school or at school-sponsored activities.
School administrators may adopt additional standards of dress or administrators or teachers may require special clothing for health and safety reasons for students participating in physical education, certain extra-curricular activities, work with or around machines, or other activities. However, no particular brand may be required.
Violation of this policy may result in (a) the student being required to change clothing or (b) disciplinary action ranging from detention to suspension from school.
Madawaska High School, Madawaska
Madawaska High School Students should dress with safety, comfort and success in mind every day of the school year. Dressing for success in the school routine reinforces for the students the importance of dressing appropriately for the world of work and their future professional endeavors. Student dress must reflect neatness, cleanliness, modesty, good taste and must not be suggestive, threatening or intimidating. It is an expectation that students will use sound judgment and reflect respect for themselves and others in dress and grooming. In keeping with the goals of the school unit to provide a safe, healthy and non- discriminatory environment for educating students for maximum academic and social development, the following restrictions on dress shall be enforced.
- Articles of clothing that promote the use of tobacco, alcohol or other drugs may not be worn on school grounds (when school is in session) or at school functions.
- Clothing, footwear, insignia or accessories that are intended to identify the wearer as a member of a particular gang are prohibited.
- Articles of clothing with displays that are sexual, vulgar, lewd or indecent or include insulting words, or innuendo are impermissible.
- Clothing that is destructive of school property (e.g., cleats, pants with metal inserts that scratch furniture) is not permitted.
- Hats, bandannas, hoods, and wallets with chains cannot be worn in school.
School administrators or teachers may require special clothing for health and safety reasons for Students participating in physical education, certain extracurricular activities, work with or around machines or other activities. However, no particular brand may be required.
Additionally, dress must reflect the standards of both individual and school building safety. All dress must contribute to an environment consistent with a positive and healthy school climate:
- Clothing needs to cover the student’s torso and all undergarments – no “belly shirts.”
- Clothing will be clean and odor free.
- Halter-tops, tank tops, crop-tops, and open back shirts will not be allowed.
- Shorts and skirts/dresses must reach the student’s fingertips with their hands held down by their sides. Length should extend beyond the pockets. All holes need to be covered or patched in areas above the fingertip rule.
- All dress must be weather appropriate.
- Footwear must be appropriate for school. Sneakers only on the gym floor.
- All footwear must be tied, laced and/or strapped as per the shoe design.
- Madawaska High School faculty and administrators are authorized to determine appropriateness of student attire.
- Students dressed inappropriately will be expected to change/cover their attire before continuing in their studies for the day.
- Parents of students requiring accommodation for religious beliefs, disabilities, or medical purposes should contact the building principal.
- Any individual refusing to adhere to dress and behavior guidelines will be referred to the building principals for review and possible consequences.
If students’ dress is not in accordance with the above, the faculty will send students to the Main Office and the principal or his/her designee will determine if dress is proper. The principal will determine any exception(s) to the dress code.
Lake Region High School, Naples
Click HERE for a copy of the policy.
RSU 16, Poland
Dress Code Clothing, including jewelry and other accessories, is expected to be appropriate for the learning environment. It should strengthen school spirit and pride and focus attention upon learning and away from distractions. Immodest clothing is not acceptable.
- Clothing that openly exposes a student’s back, midriff, rear end, chest hair, shoulders, bra straps, or underwear is unacceptable.
- Tank tops are acceptable with straps wide enough to cover undergarments.
- Sheer shirts that reveal a student’s back, midriff, chest hair, shoulders, or underwear are not acceptable.
- Length of skirts and shorts must provide appropriate coverage.
- Clothing, including face coverings, that advertises, depicts, features, or refers to alcohol, tobacco, weaponry, violence, drugs or profanity is not allowed. Racist, sexist, or otherwise harassing material is also not allowed.
- Clothing that causes disruption to the learning environment is not allowed. School administration reserves the right to determine whether clothing is disruptive.
- Clothing that presents a safety concern, such as shoes with wheels in the soles, high heels or large chains on clothing or worn around the neck, or that causes maintenance problems, such as cleats, shoes that scratch floors, are not allowed.
Students not wearing acceptable attire will be reminded and given the opportunity to change into acceptable attire. Parents will be contacted if there is an ongoing issue with appropriate attire. Final determination for appropriate dress is at the discretion of administration.
King Middle School, Portland
Here is the one from King Middle that was created after the, “I am not a distraction” protest of a student. She was at my elementary school, brave kid. This girl came from a private school with uniforms, to my elementary school with no dress code. So she noticed the difference at the middle school, who at the time had a more traditional dress code.
The responsibility for the dress and appearance rests with the individual student and their parent(s)/guardian(s). This won’t be interfered with unless the choices being made pose health or safety risks or are disruptive to the learning process.
The following are some, but not all, examples of clothing that could disrupt learning:
- Clothing with statements/graphics that violate others’ civil rights.
- Clothing that references illegal behavior such as violence, drugs, sex, alcohol or tobacco.
- Clothing needs to cover the midriff and undergarments.
Students struggling to meet these expectations will be addressed individually, privately and tactfully by any adult in the building.
Specific dress/attire may be deemed appropriate for school, co-curricular, or community events. Expectations will be shared and taught far in advance, so school personnel can support students to know and meet these expectations. Students will not be excluded from participation in school activities and events.
Jordan-Small Middle School, Raymond
DRESS CODE FOR STUDENTS
The wearing of clothing (such as T ‑ shirts) with graphic illustrations or printed statements that are of a sexual, vulgar or obscene nature, or which are considered inappropriate for a school environment and, in the opinion of the school principal, disrupt the educational mission of the school or interfere with the rights of others shall be prohibited. Clothing illustrating drug, alcohol, and tobacco products or that promotes illegal activities is not allowed. Clothing or accessories that are unsafe or potentially destructive of school property are also prohibited.
In addition, students are prohibited from wearing clothing that reveals undergarments or does not cover the body appropriately.
Specific examples include but are not limited to:
- mid-riff shirts, tank tops, “spaghetti strap” tops, or any other low cut shirt that reveals cleavage.
- baggy pants worn low that reveal boxer shorts, etc.
- shorts and skirts that do not adequately cover the thighs or buttocks.
While the dictates of fashion may pressure students to wear certain items of clothing, these items may, in fact, be disruptive in a school setting. Hats, caps, hoods and outdoor jackets/coats are not to be worn inside the building. Parents are urged to assist the school in monitoring the clothing that students wear to school.
School administrators or teachers may require special clothing for health and safety reasons for students participating in physical education, certain extracurricular activities, work with or around machines, in the science labs, or other activities. However, no particular brand shall be required.
RSU 3, Thorndike
We use the district policy, verbatim, as our “dress code” and do not include more specific restrictions for length of shorts and skirts for several reasons. For one thing, more specific dress code restrictions often tend to focus on rules for girls, which can create a real gender bias in the dress code. Also, it is difficult to find a litmus for measuring length of shorts/skirts. If you say “past your fingertips,” or a specific number of inches, you will inevitably find some students with long arms not being able to wear shorts at all, while students with short arms might end up wearing something very revealing. Furthermore, similar length clothing on individual bodies can drape very differently due to weight, height, body shape, etc. So, it’s tricky to say the least to try and include a length of shorts/skirts rule in your dress code. Instead, we rely on the bones of the district dress code and address egregiously inappropriate dress on a case by case basis.
Click HERE to view their policy.
Oak Hills High School, Wales
DRESS CODE
Students are expected to wear clothing that is appropriate for the school environment. Wearing clothing or accessories that is likely to cause a disruption in the school, is potentially harmful or is offensive will be prohibited. Specific examples of prohibited attire include:
- Attire with drug/alcohol/tobacco-related images, logos or slogans
- Excessively revealing clothing
- Chains or spiked accessories
- Display of any bandana.
Wearing hats or headwear is permitted in the building with classroom expectations set by the teacher. All hats or headwear must meet dress code expectations.
Sebago Elementary School
Students are encouraged to dress neatly and appropriately for school.
Clothing should be appropriate for the season and should be of neat appearance. This includes jackets, snow boots, snow pants, hats, and mittens in the cold and snowy weather, and appropriate shorts on the warm days in the spring. This should be done in such a way that does not endanger the health and safety of themselves or others, while not violating the rights of any parties. In considering a student dress code, there are three important issues considered. They are:
- The desire to eliminate clothing with messages which may reasonably be anticipated to cause disruption or violence.
- The desire to eliminate clothing with obscene, lewd, or vulgar messages.
- The desire to foster in students good grooming standards.
For those reasons we do not permit the wearing of:
- Tops with straps less than two inches wide
- Cropped shirts that expose the midriff
- Hats, bandanas, or hoods
- Jackets while inside the building
- Clothing that contains profanity, sexual content, or other messages which might reasonably be considered offensive to others
- Sunglasses within the school – okay outside
- Any clothing which exposes undergarments
- Chains of any type
- Heelies
- Shorts/skirts which do not reach the middle of the thigh.
Should a student’s dress be disruptive to their learning or the learning of another child, parents will be requested to bring other clothing to school.
Washburn District Elementary School, Washburn
This year, we had a committee of two parents & two staff members completely rewrite the dress code.
It is loosely based on the Oregon NOW model.
We had several parents who specifically had issues with the language surrounding length of shorts and skirts. There was also a constant battle with the location of the distressed rips in jeans.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13wP37ngSTH_xxjpso2hI5z5zDZWTPCSBVyecvg1hEBQ/edit?usp=sharing
Coastal Ridge Elementary School, York
Dress Code
The elementary school seeks to maintain an orderly, respectful environment for educating our students. The appearance of a student is primarily the responsibility of the student and his/her parents. We expect students to maintain an appearance which is not distracting to teachers or other students, or in any way disruptive to the instructional program of the school. Clothing worn by students shall be neat, clean, and in good repair for the general personal health and safety of the student. Immodest clothing of such type that distracts from the learning process shall not be worn. The 3-finger rule shall apply in determining shoulder strap width acceptability and tops must cover the midriff (no stomachs showing). Clothing which is not appropriate for school wear include: halter or tube tops; short-shorts; cut-off tee shirts; shirts with offensive language or graphics which promote drug, tobacco, or alcohol use; platform shoes or flip flops; see-through items of clothing. Clothing that is destructive to school property (e.g., cleats, pants with metal inserts that scratch furniture) is not permitted. When a student comes to school dressed inappropriately, parents will be contacted to bring a change of clothing to school. Students are asked to remove caps, hats, hoods, and sunglasses upon entering the school building out of courtesy and respect for others and the school environment. The expectations of (school Elementary) are that its students will dress in a tasteful manner that will reflect an attitude for learning and growth.