Have you seen more students wearing bright green and orange colors as shirts this year?  If so, this is due to a dress code violation. 

Students who violate the dress code are either escorted or called into the office by administrators and  security where they are given loaner clothes to put on to replace the “inappropriate one.”

Administration started enforcing the dress code harder this year, adding more consequences, like workshop time after school and making students sign contracts to ensure they do not violate dress code in the future.

The policy of dress code can be found in the student handbook and goes like this:

1st -3rd violation: Warning and correction of dress code violation (student can call home for a change of clothes or be provided with a dress code shirt). 

4th-5th violation: lunch detention and correction of dress code violation

6th violation: Parent conference with administration, dress code agreement and correction of dress code violation

7th violation: Revision of dress code agreement; additional workshop

8th or more violation: 30 minute after school workshop per violation

Not only that, but if items are deemed to be gang related, students can lose their stuff by submitting to law enforcement for review.

The pieces of clothing that are most commonly dress coded are solid color shirts such as red due to the fact that the clothes may have some sort of representation of gangs.  “Any article of clothing related to gang/crew attire.  This includes bandannas, initialed belt buckles, other gang/crew apparel, and patches or symbols that symbolize violence. (BP & Education Code 32282),”  according to the student handbook. For girls,  the most commonly dress coded piece of clothes is crop tops due to the clothing revealing skin in the abdomen area.

Many students do not like the dress code and its consequences citing that some students are targeted more than others and that some of the clothing does not truly fall into the violation code.

Enrique Vidalez (12) commented, “The best part of the dress code is nothing; It’s all bad.”  

Mrs. Seaborn shared that she feels the dress code mostly affects girls. She commented, for example, that the length rule where girls use their hands to measure what is appropriate known as the “fist rule” where clothes cannot be above your fists, “doesn’t apply to everyone because people with short arms cannot correctly measure what is appropriate.”

She also mentions that the heat is part of the reason why students get dress coded since more revealing clothes tend to be more comfortable to wear during the hot weather Los Banos is experiencing.

If you have any questions or concerns about the dress code, see an administrator in the main office.