New dress code for TDSB students comes into effect this fall

Mixed reaction to new TDSB student dress code The new board-wide policy is designed to be more inclusive and "equitable."

A new policy on what students can wear to Toronto District School Board (TDSB) schools will come into effect this fall.

The revised “student dress policy,” formally known as the “appropriate dress policy,” was approved by the school board on May 22 and will be implemented at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year.

Along with the renaming, the new policy focuses on “student voice, impact and engagement,” according to the TDSB.

“Historically, school dress codes have been written and enforced in ways that disproportionately and negatively impact: female-identified students, racialized students, gender diverse, transgender and non-binary students, students with disabilities, socioeconomically marginalized students and Indigenous, First Nation, Métis and Inuit students,” the school board said in the “rationale” section of the now-passed policy.

“Focused, explicit, persistent and determined action is required to challenge and overcome this history.”

The dress code that will take effect in September must be followed by all students while attending school and school-related functions.

The new dress code includes:

The new dress policy must be enforced by all staff at the TDSB, who will not use “subjective discretion to vary the requirements in any ways,” the school board said.

According to the new policy, dress code violations will be treated as “minor on the continuum of school rule violations” and no students will be negatively affected by dress code enforcement.

The president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation Toronto, Leslie Wolfe, said many teachers felt they were spending too much time enforcing dress code restrictions.

“There was a concern that teachers and education workers were having to make judgment on appropriate attire and spend precious educational time policing attire as opposed to teaching students,” she said.

Wolfe said she believes allowing students to develop their “own sense of right and wrong" will "show good judgment.”

“It is really not a union’s position to speak to a board’s policy but what I can say is that most of us learn about appropriate dress from our home and our communities and the surrounding circumstances.”

After learning about the changes, some students who spoke with CTV News Toronto at an Etobicoke high school said it’s about time, but other students feel it’s unnecessary.

“Many students already wear this kind of stuff so that just gives them more liberty to feel comfortable with what they are wearing and not get penalized for what they want to wear,” one student said.

Another student said if students are wearing “short clothing” it may be “distracting” to others.

“It’s also not school appropriate,” he said. “I feel like the current policy is OK. I don’t think there is any issue with the current dress code. I don’t feel it is racist or discriminatory in any way.”

The TDSB said it plans to “clearly convey” the new dress policy with students, parents/guardians and staff by having it displayed in schools, posted online, printed in student agendas, and highlighted in announcements and newsletters as reminders.

Here is the full student dress policy: