Most school systems have tolerated many infractions to the dress codes that are in place in the schools under their jurisdiction. Parents have been granted every opportunity to ensure that all clothes that are worn by their children to school adhere to the rigid requirements that the school boards took the time to put into writing.



While some parents realized that some changes needed to be made in the school dress codes, they also felt that these changes would not be welcomed by all parents. They did not put new parents into the mix because they were never tasked with buying anything different. Any change in school dress code policies is translated by parents as another way that they are faced with spending money that they might not have in the family budget, and this is especially true if they have several children to send to school.

Some parents get on the defensive from the start of the school year because they learned about the changes in dress code policies a few weeks before school was to start. They might have felt that the school board was insensitive to their needs and were out of touch with what it takes to send a child to school these days. They also felt that the dress code policy changes made them feel like ineffective managers of the family budget.

If school uniform policies are in force at the end of school, then any changes could be sent via emails if the school board thought ahead. Some parents might have already purchased new uniforms for their children to wear at the end of the school year. Children outgrow lots of school uniform items every year that they attend schools and parents have gotten into the habit of passing down uniforms to other children if at all possible to keep back to school costs down.

The back to school dress codes might be completely different. Boys might be required to wear belts that are made only of cloth because they are now considered to be weapons if they have a buckle on them. Some skirts might not hang correctly on some children and they might rise higher because the child has bigger hips than other children in their age group.

The parents are faced with a dilemma when they must decide whether their child must wear ill fitting clothes throughout the year to comply with the school dress codes, or make the decision to allow them to show their kneecap and violate the school dress code policy every time the child wears a skirt to school. Most parents will choose the latter and schedule a meeting with the school principal over the matter and the child has to carry that worry with them when they return to school.