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Parent tells Chester County board dress code for pants is costly, hard to find; requests policy change
Summary
A parent urged the Chester County School Board to allow pants with stretch for girls, saying approved twill/cotton pants are scarce and expensive and that enforcement is singling out students by body type. The board said it would research the request and asked for concrete examples before taking action.
Kayla Patterson, a parent and Chester County High School graduate, told the Chester County School Board during public comment that the district’s current dress code for middle- and high-school pants has become “too difficult and too expensive” for many families.
Patterson said clothes retailers have largely stopped carrying the twill or cotton pants the district currently approves and that when such pants are available they are more expensive than ordinary school clothing. “Most stores no longer carry twill or cotton pants that fit properly…Since 2020, the cost of school approved clothing has…risen tremendously,” she said. Patterson told the board she and other families started a petition on change.org that has drawn more than 300 signatures asking the district to adopt the K–5 pants standard for older students.
The request centers on allowing pants with some stretch or spandex content so families can more easily find properly fitting, inexpensive options. Patterson said students — particularly girls — have reported being singled out or dress-coded because pants did not fit their bodies, which she said harms students’ confidence: “What may seem like a small clothing rule can have a big effect on confidence and self esteem.”
Board members and administrators responded that no change could be adopted at the meeting and that staff would research the issue. A board member said the district is “taking the handbook and…enforcing something that may not have been enforced as much in the past,” and invited the public commenter to provide concrete examples and pictures to help staff craft any future proposal.
Patterson said she could provide photos and examples and asked the board to consider permitting stretch fabrics in approved pants while continuing to prohibit leggings that reveal the wearer’s bottom. She also mentioned other student concerns she’d heard, including reports of students wearing cat ears or “cattails” at junior high; board staff said reported incidents had been addressed when brought to administrators’ attention.
The board did not take formal action on the request. A staff member said the board could respond with questions and place any substantive change on a future agenda after research and review.
