North Little Rock schools dropping uniform policy; dress code to be created

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — The School Board has suspended its school uniform policy for the 2021-22 school year and a district-wide dress code will be created in the coming weeks.

The board voted Thursday to approve a motion to suspend the uniform policy for elementary, middle school and academy students. School Board member Natalie Wankum was the lone opposing vote.

Micheal Stone, executive director of student and equity services, presented a rough draft of a school dress code policy replacing the uniforms required for elementary, middle school and academy students. He said the decision on the uniform policy needed to be made soon to allow parents to start making plans on what type of clothes needed to be bought for the coming school year.

“We are going to make some adjustments,” Stone said. “I took a lot of this from the high school dress code policy when we adopted this last year due to the pandemic. … What we can do, since we are moving in this direction, is to make it district-wide dress code.”

The decision comes after a survey by the School District last year showed students and parents overwhelmingly oppose school uniforms.

Superintendent Gregory Pilewski said during a workshop in March the board requested last year the district gather data regarding whether students and parents favored school uniforms.

The survey was sent out to elementary, middle school and academy students and parents.

According to the data collected from 1,623 students and 1,385 parents, results overwhelmingly indicated both groups preferred not to school uniforms. Total district data showed 91% of students and 79% of parents voted against having a school uniform policy.

The proposed dress code requires students wear shoes, and that clothing must cover underwear, a student’s back, midriff, chest and buttocks. Half-shirts, tube tops, seethrough and mesh shirts or any tops without a back are not allowed. Skirts and shorts must be of appropriate length and no shorter than mid-thigh around the leg.

Yoga pants, leggings, jeggings and any spandex or skintight garment must be covered by another garment that provides minimum coverage.

Sunglasses or any attire that covers the face is prohibited, along with hats, do-rags, hoods, curlers, picks, bandannas and combs. Any clothing that promotes alcohol, drugs, weapons, tobacco, gang affiliation, sexuality or profanity is also prohibited.

The school’s principal will have final say regarding what is deemed inappropriate and what can be worn for special events such as graduation, prom and dances.

Online students must also follow the same dress code as in-person students.