Naugatuck High School junior Alida Maldonado wore yoga pants and a hooded sweatshirt to the Board of Education meeting Thursday to show how she was dressed when she was reprimanded recently for violating the school’s dress code policy.
She, her mother and a few others spoke at the meeting at Central Avenue School in attempts to convince the school board to do away with the current dress code policy, which says yoga pants are banned, along with ripped jeans and skirts or shorts that are too short, to name a few violations. They say not only is the new policy too stringent – yoga pants don’t appear to be promiscuous, yet the dress code views them as too tight – they also say it is not being enforced consistently.
However, those in opposition aren’t just complaining, they are proposing a solution: make students wear “uniforms.” Those would consist of khaki pants or appropriate skirts for girls, and collared shirts that look presentable, similar to a policy that nearby Waterbury schools currently enforces.
The Naugatuck school board took no action on the uniform issue Thursday night. Instead, the board says the policy subcommittee is reviewing the dress code. Lead by board member Scott Slauson, the committee will seek input from parents, students and faculty to come up with what it deems as an appropriate solution.
Meanwhile, board member Glenn Connan showed exactly why there is controversy over the current dress code. He told Maldonado and another girl dressed similarly that he believed they were dressed appropriately for school, a comment that drew applause from supporters. Whether it's what he intended, Connan’s comment proved that what people view as appropriate dress for school is in the eye of the beholder.
