School committee takes first reading of updated JICA dress‑code policy; members raise concerns about subjectivity
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Summary
The committee accepted a revised JICA student dress‑code policy for first reading, with members noting the update pares down specific prohibitions and delegates specifics to school handbooks; a second reading and vote will follow after more review.
The policy subcommittee presented a consolidated revision of the JICA student dress‑code policy at the Dec. 15 meeting and the committee moved to take it as a first reading.
A subcommittee representative said the document combined the updated JICA language the district adopted in 2022 with select provisions retained from the older JICA‑R (2016) and language used by neighboring districts. The representative emphasized the distinction between policy and procedure: "this is policy. It's not procedures" and said building‑level handbooks would carry specific, operational expectations.
Several committee members objected to removal of specific items they considered important to maintaining a standard of appropriateness. Ms. Landershoek asked whether legal guidance (MASC or court decisions) informed the change and flagged the removal of explicit prohibitions that had been in the 2016 regulation. Another member stressed that broad phrases such as "attire shall be appropriate for all activities" raise subjectivity concerns and asked whether the committee or administration will provide guidance to buildings on how to translate the policy into consistent handbooks.
Committee Chair moved that the board accept the revised JICA as a first reading to allow further review before a second reading and vote. The committee agreed to follow the standard two‑reading process, with a second discussion scheduled at a later meeting.
No final policy vote occurred at the meeting; committee members requested time to review the proposed language and to coordinate building‑level guidance before formal adoption.