Parent urges equitable dress-code rewrite after daughter dress-coded at Mason Middle School

Jesse Green, a parent of three Tacoma public school students, asked the board to adopt a districtwide dress-code policy that avoids disproportionate impacts on students by race, gender and body type, recounting his daughter's experience being dress-coded at Mason Middle School.

Green said the district policy (cited in comment as "TPS policy 32 24") requires dress-code enforcement to avoid disparities but that his family experienced the opposite. He described an incident in which his seventh-grade daughter, an ASB officer, was dress-coded for wearing leggings and a t-shirt; she later worked with peers to propose flexible updates at the site council level.

He told the board that a Mason teacher on the SCDM committee said eliminating measurements on shorts could lead to girls "having their booties hanging out" and that tank-top rules would require a strapless bra. Green characterized those comments as "antiquated, sexist, and victim blaming" and urged the board to consider model language from Seattle Public Schools to achieve an equitable, common-sense district policy.

Why it matters: Green argued that current enforcement practices have a disparate impact on girls and that inconsistent enforcement undermines both equity and student dignity. He said that during the year, inconsistent enforcement effectively meant students wore typical warm-weather clothing with no adverse effects.

Next steps: Green said he emailed board members and the Mason SCDM committee model dress-code language and requested the board consider adopting districtwide policy language that emphasizes equity and reasonableness.

Ending: He asked the board to adopt guidance that treats students with dignity, avoids victim-blaming rationales and removes strict, measurement-based rules that fall unevenly on particular student groups.