Dress Code

After expressing concern about too-casual attire, the school board tonight will discuss dress standards for teachers and staff members. Santa Ana Unified School District policy already requires teachers to "maintain professional standards of dress and grooming." But at their last meeting in April, board members were bothered that some teachers had interpreted the policy too loosely by, for example, wearing shorts to class.

Signs warning patrons "No shirts, no shoes, no service" are common in some American cafeterias and restaurants. But at Microsoft? This year, a sign, "Shoes and Shirts Required," was seen hanging from a cafeteria door at the software company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters. While a shoeless computer whiz doesn't seem out of place in a high-tech incubator like Microsoft, the notice itself says something about the state of America's business wardrobe.

A new dress code for employees of Radio Shack has prompted a Burbank man to resign his part-time job with the company rather than shave his 7-year-old mustache. High school computer teacher Sid Kolpas, 38, said the dress code--designed to improve the professional appearance of workers--was "invading my personal liberty." Company official Bob Chatley called Kolpas "a valued employee" who can have his job back "if he wants to conform to the policy."

Entertainers are barred from wearing tight or ragged jeans, skirts with slits and shaggy hair under a new dress code set out by the military junta to stamp out "alien culture." Lt. Gen. Myo Nyunt, a member of the ruling junta, lashed out at entertainers for wearing "decadent" outfits that he said were incompatible with Burmese culture, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported Saturday.

Hawthorne schoolteachers may soon be held to the same dress standard as their students. The Hawthorne School Board on Wednesday night gave preliminary approval to a dress code for teachers and school administrators that forbids shorts, skorts and beach sandals. Hats and caps cannot be worn indoors. Also banned would be halter tops, ripped or frayed clothing and skirts shorter than mid-thigh length.

A new dress code at Peary Junior High School in Gardena triggered a walkout by nearly 180 students Tuesday, but the protest appeared to have lost some steam Wednesday when only 11 students walked out. Principal Alvin L. Hayes Sr. said he saw the students leaving the campus at 9 a.m. Wednesday. He said they were joined off campus by four other students who had not reported to school.

The Moorpark Board of Education was given detailed information Tuesday on dress code requirements at Moorpark High School aimed at averting potential gang problems. Supt. Tom Duffy said the item was put on the agenda "because of comments in the press. We want to bring forth a clear understanding of what brought about the dress code." The dress code forbids students from wearing clothing associated with gangs at school or at any school event.

Dress codes aren't a black-and-white issue at Camellia Avenue Elementary School. They're a blue-and-white issue. The school of about 825 students began a uniform dress code last week, becoming only the second Los Angeles Unified School District elementary school to require uniforms. Charter school Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Pacoima became the first in July. But the uniform requirement is not a punishment, said Assistant Principal Ysafi Diamond. Nor is it inflexible.

The ABC Unified school board is scheduled Tuesday to consider testing a uniform dress code at five elementary schools in Cerritos and Artesia beginning in September. Parents at the five schools overwhelmingly favor a uniform dress code on campus, a recent survey found. More than 75% of the 1,379 parents who responded to a survey that was sent home in March said they favored the proposal to have the students wear uniforms in shades of gray, navy or plaid, school officials said.

About 30 students at Sierra Intermediate School staged a protest against the school's dress code Wednesday, and half of them were sent home with their parents after refusing to return to class, administrators said. The students dispersed when told to stop the protest, said Joe Tafoya, assistant superintendent for the secondary division of the Santa Ana Unified School District.