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Girl, 11, told by school not to wear 9/11 T-shirt

Yep. OP's Fox link says that the only time students don't have to wear uniforms is on "free dress days," and 9-11 wasn't one of them. Besides, the kids are all free to wear whatever they want after they return home from school.

I'm all about remembering 9/11 and both my kids are well aware of it, even though both were born after the fact. And as long as the school wasn't playing "favors" for other groups/events this is a non-issue. I actually wouldn't have an issue if every school from K-9 required uniforms. As far as I'm concerned kids are there to learn, not display the latest fashion's.
 
Children do not have first amendment rights.

Are you over 18? Really? and on your own, paying your own bills?

I believe the SCOTUS upheld that students in the primary school systems in this country retained their rights, as well as parents. Now, I will concede that the school has a uniform in place, and allows for days where there is kind of a 'free pass' day to wear their own clothes from time to time, however, where this school fails IMHO, and many of these "No Tolerance" policies fail is they do away with common sense. It was 9/11, and the child wasn't wearing anything rude, or distracting, but rather something honoring the fallen...
 
I believe the SCOTUS upheld that students in the primary school systems in this country retained their rights, as well as parents. Now, I will concede that the school has a uniform in place, and allows for days where there is kind of a 'free pass' day to wear their own clothes from time to time, however, where this school fails IMHO, and many of these "No Tolerance" policies fail is they do away with common sense. It was 9/11, and the child wasn't wearing anything rude, or distracting, but rather something honoring the fallen...

That's all true, and, if the school didn't require uniforms, then they wouldn't have had a reason to disallow the shirt.

Student dress codes are a can of worms, and always have been. Kids will try to push the envelope, styles are constantly changing, and the school really isn't there to instill a fashion sense in the students.

Today's big thing is gang colors and styles. Most schools have a prohibition of gang attire, but just what does that mean? It changes constantly, and takes up the teacher and administrator's time trying to keep up. The logical answer is school uniforms. If the kids want to express themselves through their clothing, let them do it while under the supervision of their parents.

As for first amendment rights, kids' rights always end where their parents say they do, and the schools operate in place of parents when the kids are at school.
 
Then the parents and school officials need to meet to determine if adding 9-11 as a special day is something they want to do. In the meantime, there are lots of occasions that could be honored, and you either have a uniform policy or you don't.
 
That's all true, and, if the school didn't require uniforms, then they wouldn't have had a reason to disallow the shirt.

Student dress codes are a can of worms, and always have been. Kids will try to push the envelope, styles are constantly changing, and the school really isn't there to instill a fashion sense in the students.

Today's big thing is gang colors and styles. Most schools have a prohibition of gang attire, but just what does that mean? It changes constantly, and takes up the teacher and administrator's time trying to keep up. The logical answer is school uniforms. If the kids want to express themselves through their clothing, let them do it while under the supervision of their parents.

As for first amendment rights, kids' rights always end where their parents say they do, and the schools operate in place of parents when the kids are at school.

I agree with what you are saying, however, this wasn't a case of 'gang colors' or anything of the sort. The school says it has days where it "suspends" the uniform code, and allows students to wear their own clothes, and the problem I see with these rigid policies, is it doesn't take into consideration the difference between say 'gang attire', and a respectful t-shirt honoring the fallen of 9/11. And with their out of hand straight denial without a better communication of why the student couldn't wear the shirt they sound callous, and uncaring of others feelings on the matter.

On the subject of schools taking the role of the parent during school hours, I would only say that in some ways that is an apt description, in others it is not. For example, if the parent has explicit instructions for the school during hours, then the school should be bound to comply within reason. To often the school tries to take on the role of the parent to the exclusion of the actual parent, as if they hold more authority, that is a recipe for confrontation.

My point is that the school is not in many cases including this one, using their common sense in how this will look to people reading the report about it...
 
Then the parents and school officials need to meet to determine if adding 9-11 as a special day is something they want to do. In the meantime, there are lots of occasions that could be honored, and you either have a uniform policy or you don't.

Agreed, and the parents should have thought about that policy before just sending little Suzy to school in something other than the proscribed code without knowing for sure if she could wear the shirt that day. Surely they have a phone.

But my problem is not with the fact that the school told the girl to change to the uniform, but rather how they addressed the situation.
 
I agree with what you are saying, however, this wasn't a case of 'gang colors' or anything of the sort. The school says it has days where it "suspends" the uniform code, and allows students to wear their own clothes, and the problem I see with these rigid policies, is it doesn't take into consideration the difference between say 'gang attire', and a respectful t-shirt honoring the fallen of 9/11. And with their out of hand straight denial without a better communication of why the student couldn't wear the shirt they sound callous, and uncaring of others feelings on the matter.

On the subject of schools taking the role of the parent during school hours, I would only say that in some ways that is an apt description, in others it is not. For example, if the parent has explicit instructions for the school during hours, then the school should be bound to comply within reason. To often the school tries to take on the role of the parent to the exclusion of the actual parent, as if they hold more authority, that is a recipe for confrontation.

My point is that the school is not in many cases including this one, using their common sense in how this will look to people reading the report about it...

No, it wasn't a case of gang colors or anything of the sort. It was a case of requiring school uniforms. The best rationale for requiring uniforms is that the school officials don't have to waste time splitting hairs about which clothes are OK, and which are not.

The law is in loco parentis, meaning that schools serve in place of the parents. Sure, if a parent makes a reasonable request, then the school will abide by it, but they can't shirk the responsibility of compliance with the law.

And while this case looks bad to people merely reading the headlines, once you read beyond it is a perfectly reasonable action.
 
No, it wasn't a case of gang colors or anything of the sort. It was a case of requiring school uniforms. The best rationale for requiring uniforms is that the school officials don't have to waste time splitting hairs about which clothes are OK, and which are not.

The law is in loco parentis, meaning that schools serve in place of the parents. Sure, if a parent makes a reasonable request, then the school will abide by it, but they can't shirk the responsibility of compliance with the law.

And while this case looks bad to people merely reading the headlines, once you read beyond it is a perfectly reasonable action.

No one said anything about "breaking the law".... I said "reasonable"....Glad you agree.

And I disagree that it only looks bad to those "reading the headlines", or skimming the story. My point is the communication aspect of it. To me it looks like an 'educrat' speaking from an arrogant stance of insensitivity as to how this would be reported. That all too often happens with those within the education system.

Think about the 7year old that ate his sandwich into the shape of a gun, and was suspended under the "weapons" rule in the school....It's dumb and reasonable people know it.
 
And speaking of headlines, how did the media come to learn about this 9-11 t-shirt episode? Every day of the school week, some kid breaks a uniform rule. What made this one student and one t-shirt special?
 
And speaking of headlines, how did the media come to learn about this 9-11 t-shirt episode? Every day of the school week, some kid breaks a uniform rule. What made this one student and one t-shirt special?

Maybe the original local report from the CBS affiliate would help answer that, here.

School Bans Orangevale Sixth Grader’s Sept. 11 Tribute T-Shirt, Calls It Dress Code Violation « CBS Sacramento

"ORANGEVALE (CBS13) — A young girl was told by her school that she couldn’t wear a T-shirt to pay tribute to the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.
School leaders say they have a good reason for banning the sixth-grader’s Sept. 11 memorial T-shirt on Thursday. When her stepfather tried to get permission, school administrators say it violated their dress code."

They are hiding behind that...If you watch the original report in video with the father of the girl, you'll see a portion shot at the school of some kids over by a tree. Clearly not all the kids are wearing the school t-shirt, so I wonder if this was a case of some extreme liberal teacher that didn't like the shirt this girl was wearing, and the school to protect its teacher circled the wagons and hides behind simplistic one line statements that do little but make people mad....

Now, the districts dress code that this school administrator said "violated" the district dress code reads as such:

"Dress Code
Each school establishes its own dress code, which is available from the school office. Pasteur, Rogers, Salk and Sylvan middle schools and Dyer-Kelly, Howe, and Skycrest elementary schools have school uniforms. Parents may contact these principals to discuss assistance with or alternatives to school uniforms. Students must conform to the general dress code policy of the school.

In general, students are expected to wear appropriate clothing which is clean, fits properly, doesn't prevent them from participating in any school activity, and is not distracting. For safety, shoes must be worn at all times. Hats may not be worn indoors. Clothing must cover the torso, and sagging pants are not permitted.

Clothing and other items worn or carried by students, including buttons and backpacks, may not: denigrate any group; promote violation of school rules; depict drugs, tobacco, alcohol, violence, unlawful use of weapons, intimidation, gang/cult affiliation, inappropriate language or graphics, or be sexually suggestive."

Our Schools / Dress Code

So, rather than say what in this code this t-shirt violated, the weasel administrator chose to simply say that it violated the code, and that was all...

I think ultimately the parent got a hold of the local news, but really, this type of arrogance from educators when they make clear mistakes is common.
 
You can bet your ass if this was some Islamic kid wearing a Tee shirt praising Allah the left wing politically correct administrators in that school would be as silent as a church mouse.

You'd lose that bet. Again, they wear UNIFORMS at that school.
 
You'd lose that bet. Again, they wear UNIFORMS at that school.

Not so fast...I beg you to watch the video report that I posted, plus read the school districts dress code...There is room for interpretation.
 
Not so fast...I beg you to watch the video report that I posted, plus read the school districts dress code...There is room for interpretation.

I did, and I read the dress code. Students do wear uniforms. Exceptions are allowed for those who cannot afford the uniforms, but they must be cleared by the admin first.

This whole thing is much ado about nothing. The school is being unfairly painted in this one.
 
I did, and I read the dress code. Students do wear uniforms. Exceptions are allowed for those who cannot afford the uniforms, but they must be cleared by the admin first.

This whole thing is much ado about nothing. The school is being unfairly painted in this one.

Then you saw the shot of the kids under the tree. Out of about ten kids there about half were wearing what appeared to be this "uniform" t-shirt. The others were not wearing it....So tell me, how'd the shirt that the father had the daughter wear violate the policy?
 
No one said anything about "breaking the law".... I said "reasonable"....Glad you agree.

And I disagree that it only looks bad to those "reading the headlines", or skimming the story. My point is the communication aspect of it. To me it looks like an 'educrat' speaking from an arrogant stance of insensitivity as to how this would be reported. That all too often happens with those within the education system.

Think about the 7year old that ate his sandwich into the shape of a gun, and was suspended under the "weapons" rule in the school....It's dumb and reasonable people know it.

Yes, that was a totally idiotic action, as was strip searching an adolescent girl looking for a Tylenol. Zero tolerance policies do lead to some very stupid decisions at times.

As for school uniforms, I really don't see what's wrong with them. They allow school personnel to focus on education instead of how kids are dressed. To me, that's a good thing.
 
I'm all about remembering 9/11 and both my kids are well aware of it, even though both were born after the fact. And as long as the school wasn't playing "favors" for other groups/events this is a non-issue. I actually wouldn't have an issue if every school from K-9 required uniforms. As far as I'm concerned kids are there to learn, not display the latest fashion's.
If schools had uniforms it could save parents a lot of money not having to have the latest fashion fads. You wouldn't be able to wear your wannabe gang clothes or you couldn't wear clothes priced $100 more than your classmates.

The parents in this thread have an option to go to public school without uniform rules. Problem solved.
 
I would like to point out something else that has bothered me. Not sure if it is the media or the father, but someone lied about it or simply did not check their facts.

It shows the names of those who list their lives that day in the shape of the World Trade Center towers on the front of the shirt.

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/09/11/school-bans-orangevale-sixth-graders-sept-11-tribute-t-shirt-calls-it-dress-code-violation/

Note: Pretty sure that should say "lost their lives".

The towers do not show the names of those who died, but rather says over and over again "in darkness we shine brighter".

https://www.911memorial.org/catalog/darkness-t-shirt-black.html

It's a minor complaint, I know, but it still bugs me that people don't bother to get their facts straight.

As for the more major issue, I'm not a fan of school uniforms, but this school has the right to have one and to not make exceptions for everyone who feels strongly about something. If you care about the issue so much, then join the PTA, attend school council meetings, bring it up well in advanced so that you can have these significant days made "free days" long before it actually comes up. An exception like this leads to more exceptions for other students' "important" days.
 
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