Dress Code Initiatives
Check out our individual initiatives!
Seminole County Public Schools, Florida: Victory!
Our Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) dress code reform initiative was our first initiative. Initiated in June 2020, and led by Founder Julia Squitteri, this initiative aimed to remove/reform discriminatory language in specific provisions of the SCPS dress code and improve dress code enforcement. Our team led a passionate fight for reform with a petition with over 2,500 signatures and a Comprehensive Reform Plan. Complete with legal arguments, testimonies, and specific reform guidelines, our reform plan led us through meetings with the highest levels of county leadership. As of September 2021, this initiative has successfully fought for the removal of the word “cleavage,” and is now working to remove additional discriminatory language.
Martin County Public Schools, Florida: Victory!
In August 2021, Initiative Leader Kenzie Gorton launched a petition on Change.org for dress code reform in Martin County, Florida. After getting nearly 2,500 signatures, Kenzie got news attention for her work and spoke before her school board to advocate for changes to their dress code policy. This initiative is focused on promoting gender equity within dress code policy language and enforcement in Martin County. In the Fall of 2021, Kenzie and her team were successful in reforming dress code enforcement policies. By summer 2022, Martin County Public Schools also revised its policy language, marking this initiative a victory!
Pueblo School District 60, Colorado: Victory!
Our dress code initiative in Pueblo County District 60, located in Colorado, worked to reform language and enforcement in dress code policies that discriminated against feminine individuals. With provisions prohibiting items typically found in women’s clothing stores, this dress code policy was enforced disproportionately against feminine individuals. Initiative Leader Addy Lopez, a student in Pueblo County, is worked to change that—and was successful! By July of 2022, Addy was successful in achieving a full policy revision, marking this initiative a victory!
Pleasanton Unified School District, California
In April 2022, Initiative Leader Franny Willardson launched a dress code reform initiative in Pleasanton Unified School District, located in Pleasanton, California. While her initiative is just getting started, they have a clear aim: remove or reform gender discriminatory language in Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD)’s dress code. To support this effort, sign their petition and follow their Instagram account for updates!
Trivalley Secondary School, New York
Our dress code initiative in Trivalley Secondary Schools, located in New York is working to usher in policy reform. Led by initiative leader Ali Etess, this campaign launched in April 2023 when Ali conducted research on dress code enforcement in her school for a project. She hopes to see the enforcement of her dress code equalized, and is actively working to address this inequalities of her current dress code with her school district’s leadership.
Lake of Two Mountains High School, Quebec, Canada
In Quebec, Canada, we launched a dress code initiative led by Initiative Leader Sarah Blackburn in September 2021. This initiative is working to get language in their “decency code” changed, including bans on clothes that show cleavage and items of clothing most often found in the women’s section of a clothing store. Their concerns are clear: When dress code policies include language that singles out specific types of students, in this case, feminine students, those students will disproportionately miss learning time.
Rocklin Unified School District, California
In Rocklin Unified School District (RUSD), we are sponsoring a student-led initiative to reform inequitable dress code policies—an initiative that has received over 13,000 signatures on its petition! This initiative begun in April, 2021, using social media to build support for dress code reform. Our Rocklin Unified School District dress code reform initiative has collected dozens of testimonies from students, accounts of student’s experiences with discriminatory dress code policies. This initiative team hopes to build a more inclusive school environment with dress code reform by removing gender discriminatory language and improving school staff training for dress code enforcement.
