Is there a dress code for NYC schools this year?

NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – Back-to-school preparations are in full swing ahead of the first day of school, so how should parents prepare for potential dress codes?

There is currently no universal dress code for New York City public schools, but individual schools can create and enforce dress codes based on a set of guidelines from the Department of Education. 

“Dress codes are decided at the individual school level and require that schools examine their reasoning and justification for their respective policies, and schools must consider evolving generational, cultural, social, and identity norms,” a spokesperson for the DOE said in a statement to PIX11 News. “Dress codes must be gender-neutral and cannot prohibit certain types of clothing that are stereotypically associated with one gender, and they must be implemented equally and in a non-discriminatory manner.”

Over the summer, the New York City Council passed a resolution urging the DOE to create a new, universal dress code policy that is Title IX compliant and “accounts for diverse cultures, gender expressions and body diversity.” This resolution will not change the existing dress code policy for the upcoming school year, according to a spokesperson for the DOE. 

The resolution is meant to standardize dress code practices across schools to protect certain students, according to City Council Member Rita Joseph, chair of the education committee. 

“[The policy will] protect students from unfair enforcement of discrimination and gender bias dress code standards in schools to ensure that students are not subject to mistreatment or discrimination as a result of their clothing,” Joseph said at a hearing over the summer. 

The DOE will also be expected to monitor dress codes more closely across schools. Another bill passed this summer requires the DOE to track and publicize dress code policies and monitor the violations and penalties given out to students. 

As it stands, the highest penalty for a dress code violation would be removal from the classroom, which would only happen after repeated violations, according to Robin Davson, executive director of Safety, Culture & Climate at NYC Public Schools. Students cannot be suspended for dress code violations. 

Last year, students across New York City's public school system were given 244 dress code violations, an increase from 121 the year before.