Philly schools’ dress code is now a model, with kids allowed to dress in a way that ‘celebrates’ their identities

The Philadelphia School District has made significant changes to its dress code — affirming students’ right to self-expression, including the right of students to wear their hair in styles they choose.

“Students have the right to dress in a manner that celebrates their racial, cultural, religious, and gender identities, is reflective of their gender expression (including gender neutrality) and allows them to focus on their academic, social and emotional growth,” the district-wide code of conduct now begins.

That’s new. Previously, the code began: “Students are expected to follow their school’s dress code so that their appearance does not constitute a health or safety hazard.” That sentence is still included, but it no longer sets the tone.

The changes throughout the policy are significant, and position the district in the vanguard, said Paige Joki, a lawyer with the Education Law Center who has advocated for such a shift on behalf of students and families.

“It’s an exemplary policy; it really mirrors what research tells us is the best way to support students,” said Joki. “Other schools, including those outside of Pennsylvania, are taking a look to see if this is something they can do, too.”

The dress code spells out protected hairstyles — “braids, locs, puffs, afros, twists, wigs, including styles with elements such as headbands, head wraps, bonnets, barrettes or beads. Students will not be discriminated against on the basis of their hair texture. Discrimination on the basis of protective hairstyle and/or hair texture is illegal racial discrimination.”

(Pennsylvania has no law specifically preventing hair-related bias and discrimination, though one has been proposed. Other states, including New Jersey, Delaware, and New York, do have such laws.)

It affirms students’ right “to dress in accordance with their stated gender identity and/or expression... within the constraints of the school’s dress code” and their right to “wear religious garb in accordance with their religious practices, which cannot be restricted or banned.”

And it underscores that no district student can be excluded from classes, “including being denied entrance to school, suspended, or expelled for not following the dress code.”

The dress code does include one prohibition: Ski masks or other nonreligious face coverings are not permitted. (Medical face masks are OK.)

The policy also suggests that students can’t be penalized for not having the resources to comply with the dress code. “Students who do not have access to the resources to comply with the school’s dress code should discuss their extenuating circumstances with their school counselor,” the policy reads.

Though each Philadelphia school sets its own dress code, all must follow the parameters of the district’s overarching dress code, said Rachel Holzman, deputy chief of the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

Though the aim was always for the district to be inclusive, to allow students to express their identities, and to prohibit harsh discipline for dress code violations, without a dress code that spelled those things out, there were hiccups, Holzman said.

“This was about codifying the practice,” said Holzman. “It was about being a little more explicit. We wanted to make it very clear that there’s no discipline, there’s no exclusion — that’s not the response to a child’s dress.”

The dress code will continue to be reviewed every year as part of the larger student code of conduct review, and with input from students, parents, teachers, advocates, and other stakeholders, Holzman said.

The changes were particularly necessary in light of some students’ experiences, Joki said. Dress codes can disproportionately target girls, sexualizing them and discriminating based on body shape or size. Students also have been told they couldn’t wear bonnets or cultural or religious head coverings.

“We know from our work around our Black girls’ education justice initiative and beyond that many schools do have extremely punitive dress code policies that can result in discipline, including suspension, expulsion and permanent expulsion,” said Joki.

Vague or subjective policies and school leaders’ narrow views of what’s appropriate have led to students being turned away from school, Joki said.

That protected hairstyles and forms of expression are now made clear is a win, said Joki.

“Sometimes people do not know what protected styles are, they don’t know what they look like, and they don’t know what the terms mean,” she said.

Amaiyah Parker, a Central High graduate now enrolled at George Mason University, advocated for changes to the policy during her time in Philadelphia.

In the past, “at my school, you couldn’t wear a bonnet,” said Parker. Staff argued that while religious headwraps were protected and permitted, bonnets were not, she said.

Parker said the new policy was “a step in the right direction,” but she said that in the past, dress codes “were racist and gendered, played a role in the adultification of Black girls and policed women’s bodies.”

Girls with curves were sometimes called out for wearing body-conforming clothing, Parker said.

“It was inappropriate,” she said. “I saw my friends have to put on gym uniforms because they were told their clothes weren’t appropriate for school.”