Deadline is missed for school uniforms

By Emily Richmond

Friday, May 6, 2005 | 11:10 a.m.

Sixteen schools slated to adopt campus uniform policies apparently missed a deadline for notifying parents, students and staff of the change.

Under Clark County School District Regulation 3151, schools that want to adopt "standard student attire" policies must first ask the district's central office to survey families. At least 55 percent of the returned surveys must be in favor of the change.

Schools must then notify the campus community of the policy change prior to May 1 for the following academic year, according to the regulation.

The results of the latest round of surveys were released April 28 and most of the schools said they mailed out letters to parents earlier this week.

Opponents of "standard student attire" say that's past the May 1 deadline and the schools are in violation of the district policy.

"If your boss tells you to have something to him prior to a specific date does that mean close to it or by next week?" asked Deanna Wright, one of a half-dozen plaintiffs in a class action suit filed by the Nevada ACLU challenging the district's uniform policy. "Prior means prior, not as soon as you can, as close as you can."

Karlene McCormick-Lee, assistant superintendent of research, accountability and innovation, said the timeline for her office to send out the surveys and tabulate the ballots was "extremely tight." The surveys can't be mailed out until the zoning office makes its final school assignments, McCormick-Lee said.

"We have to make sure we survey families with kids coming into the building in August and not just the ones who are there now," McCormick-Lee said.

Clark County School Board President Larry Mason said he expected discussion about the missed deadline when the School Board meets next week. It may be necessary to change the survey schedule, Mason said.

"We should expect people to meet the deadlines we set, but this isn't cast in stone," Mason said. "We may need to talk about what's a realistic expectation."

Mason said while it was important for parents to be notified as quickly as possible about changes in dress code requirements, he was more concerned with the low rate of returned ballots.

The district regulation requires only a percentage of the returned ballots, rather than a percentage of the total school population, to be in favor of the dress code change.

The number of returned ballots ranged from a low of 42 for the new Thiriot Elementary School to a high of 479 for Bob Miller Middle School. The Green Valley campus, along with Bonanza High School in the district's southwest region, failed to secure the 55 percent minimum show of support.

"When only 100 ballots come back and that's enough to change the rules for 2,500 kids, I'd call that a flaw in the process," Mason said. "Unfortunately that's the process we approved and at this time I don't think there's much appetite for revisiting this."

The current regulation was crafted after months of community input sessions and countless public debates carried out at School Board meetings.

Fifteen district schools already have "standard student attire" policies in place. Most campuses require khaki -colored bottoms and solid-color shirts with no designer logos or slogans. Some schools allow more variation in choices of colors and fabrics. Blue jeans are allowed at the elementary and middle school level but not at the high schools.