Case Study: Dress Code

Michael Underhill

Department of Education, Grand Canyon University

EAD-519: Clinical Internship I: Learner-Centered Leadership

Dr. Sonja Rice

May 18, 2022

Part 1: Case Analysis
1. Brief summary of the case:
The assistant principal at a high school has been tasked with updating the school’s dress
code policy. There are two main areas of concern in this suburban school. Students wearing their
ID’s properly and then the general non-compliant clothing. While re-working the policy, the
assistant principal is also tasked with providing consequences when students are non-compliant.
This current year there were around 4,500 total violations for these two types of offenses so the
consequence that needs to be in place should be one to help ensure that all students are following
the dress code policy. Current policy is students get sent to ISS until they are compliant, but
several do not show to the appropriate room, which is a huge safety concern. The last time that
the dress code was updated in the past was ten years ago, so it is extremely outdated.
2. Identify the issues to be resolved
-Update current policy to reflect issues today, not issues from 10 years ago
-Voice opinions about district-wide uniform policy
-Make staff feel supported for holding students accountable as reflected by the school’s vision
and mission
-Address issue of students not going to ISS
-Provide adequate consequences for current non-compliant offenses
3. Stakeholders involved in the issues
There are several key stakeholders involved in this issue. To begin with, you have the
assistant principal being tasked with re-writing the current dress code policy. With the policy
being revised, it will need to get presented to the board and approved. Another critical
stakeholder is the students and their parents. The information about the changes in dress code
will need to be communicated at home and the leadership team will need to be as transparent as
possible to ensure that everyone is on the same page. The teachers will also play a role in the
process by making sure that the students are coming in and wearing whatever is expected with
the new change in policy.
4. One or two existing laws or court rulings that relate to the issues
-Bethel School District v. Fraser
-Guiles v. Marineau
-Jacobs v. Clark County School District
 5. District policies that relate to the issues
Our organization requires that all students wear a specific uniform. They can either wear
a blue or orange polo shirt for their top and must have tan or black khakis or shorts. Our policy
also goes into depth on what the consequences should be IF a student is out of uniform.
6. Possible solutions to the issues
 Work with the board to get an actual school uniform approved across the entire district.
 Survey the student body to try and understand why there are as many referrals as possible
for our chronic issues and develop ways to minimize those types of referrals.
 Create a discipline plan that is set up in a way (tiers) that the most chronic users will be
forced to take the steps in the right direction.
 Develop a better system for tracking dress code issues across the campus

7. The solutions chosen to resolve the issues

As assistant principal, the preferred solution would be to come up with a unified policy
where all students are to have the same uniform or dress code. I would work closely with the
principal and student body to make sure that everyone within the organization has the same
information and understands the procedures that are put in place and the consequences when
someone is out of uniform or breaks the dress code.

8. Action steps (2-5) for implementing your solutions, including a timeline for each
step
Step 1: Create a needs assessment and determine the infractions that need to be addressed when
the policy is re-written. (2 weeks prior to meeting with behavior committee)
Step 2: Devise a plan to create the new policy and brainstorm consequences. (Meet with
committee 2 consecutive weeks to finalize wording of policy)
Step 3: Present final policy to board and wait approval (next board meeting after policy has been
written)
Step 4: Share new policy language with staff and clarify any expectations that the staff might
have questions about. (Next PD session)
Step 5: Include policy and consequences in updated handbook and pass out to teachers/ students
and parents. (Start of new school year/ registration)
 9. Potential moral and legal consequences of each solution
The biggest ethical or legal battle with the solution I have selected is the assistant
principal following the appropriate steps to ensure the new dress code policy does not come off
as a uniform policy as that would need to be an entire district decision. Although there are
certainly some grey areas when it comes to student expression and clothing, maintaining the
safety of the students and everyone in the school would outweigh the risk a potential issue.

Rationale
The solution to this problem is to have the assistant principal take the appropriate steps in

re-writing the 10-year-old dress code policy that is causing such a headache. There are several

alternative steps that could be taken but I have outlined a sequential step process that would

ensure that the new policy is ready to go before the start of the new school year. This solution

considers addressing the main problem at hand, which is two-fold. You have the actual dress

code policy itself, and you also have the accountability and process of what happens after a

teaching staff writes a student up for not being compliant. Each action step outlines a specific

step/action that needs to be addressed and is free from any sort of bias or unfairness towards a

specific demographic of students. The staff and leadership team have already identified that the

issue stems from the original policy and from the steps that follow once a student has been

“dress-coded” by a teacher. The needs assessment is given to provide the teaching body with a

voice on how consequences are handed out and who is tasked with doing so. Lastly, the solution

promotes collaboration at different levels within the building. First, if the policy is followed

correctly by the teaching staff, there is a line of communication existing between the staff and

the students who walk into their classrooms. Expectations are set and teachers are to hold the

students to those expectations and call them out when they fail to comply. Secondly, there is a
collaboration piece with the staff and administrators who are overseeing the write-up process.

Lastly, there is also a piece where administrators and other leaders in the building can

communicate and work together to ensure that the tracking aspect of the dress code violation is

documented correctly.
 References

Grand Canyon University. (2022). Case Study: Special Education. Phoenix.

Quest Charter Academy. (2022). 2021-2022 Student Handbook