Do school dress codes unfairly target girls?

[Ghost in the Machine]

66. Speaking from personal experience, it unfairly targets the poor families the most...

Our little town, in the 4th smallest County in the State, has a dress code for Middle School and High School, but not for Elementary School. We don't have any gang related problems or anything like that. The reasoning behind the decision was "due to the income disparity in the County" according to the School Board. They thought some students wouldn't feel like they "fit in" because the kids whose families had money could wear Tommy Hilfiger, Aeropostle or whatever the newest fad was, while the poorer students might wear the same pants and/or shirt 2 days in a row, or twice in one week.

They started a code that required Khaki pants and either a polo shirt or button up dress shirt. The shirts had to be one solid color and couldn't have any kind of logos on them at all. They couldn't even have a tiny stripe on the color or the edge of the sleeve. This caused a lot of problems for the poor families because they are now face with having to buy TWO sets of clothes for their kids... school clothes and everyday wear clothes. This is a small farming town where most people wear jeans & T-shirts (flannel shirts in the winter over a thermal shirt).

I never understood it, as everyone knows everyone anyways, and the income gap is still on display in the school parking lot where some kids drive Corvettes, Hummers or any number of brand new cars, while others are driving 20 year old cars, rust buckets or riding the bus.

We have some families living in McMansions, while other families are still living on the old family homestead, passed down through generations, with over 100 year old houses (some still with no electricity or indoor plumbing) and others living in 30-40 year old mobile homes, some of which have been cobbled together to make a double-wide or have rooms and extensions built on here and there. Give me a break! The kids aren't stupid. They know what the score is.

It's the poor *parents* who have to make the sacrifices. Do they buy new clothes for 3 or 4 kids, or do they buy groceries and try to keep gas in the vehicle to get to work and back. A lot of the groceries are bought with food stamps, but they don't cover everything.... even less now with the cutbacks from the republicons (who are still wanting to cut more). I feel kind of bad for some of them, but I find it hard to feel for the staunch republicons who vote against their own best interests because "Democrats want to make us gay, get abortions 'n take away our bibles and guns!!!"

Empathy?? I can't feel it for them because I don't know HOW THE HELL a poor person, drawing food stamps, welfare and getting Tenn-Care could *EVER* vote for a republicon, but I DO feel *SYMPATHY* for their children, who are being raised by ignorant, brainwashed parents who are going to turn out the same way. Ignorance breeding ignorance for generations right here in living color.

When I was canvasing several years ago, I actually had a young man tell me "my grandpappy would come up out of his grave and get me if I EVER voted for a Democrat, 'cuz they wanna take away our guns!"

I've learned to just shake my head in disbelief around here, and keep mostly to myself....

Peace,

Ghost