According to a document on the Rainy River District School Board website, as of September this year, “all Rainy River District School Board elementary and secondary schools will be introduced to updated Student Dress Guidelines.” These guidelines were developed with students across the district, and, according to the school board, are rooted in the principles of equity and inclusion.
Moreover, the document states, “Providing students and families guidelines to inform student dress choice supports personal expression and self-identity, and schools can become safer and more welcoming environments for every student.”
According to Beth Fairfield, Superintendent of Education of the Rainy River District School board, the policy before these changes “reinforced antiquated stereotypes” and was based on a “compliance model.” Moreover, this “anti-racist, anti-oppressive,” change to policy was made to foster a sense of belonging while meeting necessary legal requirements with the help of students from diverse backgrounds.
“The why behind this, why we chose to move in this direction, was that after we took a look at what our current practices were last year, across the board we recognized that we really needed to modernize our approach,” says Fairfield, “we wanted to move toward something that was more grounded in human rights and equity and move away from this notion of a dress code that reinforced antiquated stereotypes.”
Fairfield says the previous policy “disproportionately affected” racialized, transgender, and female students.
“It was really important to me that we moved away from a compliance model, which was a dress code, to something that was more inclusive and provided choice,” says Fairfield, “we’re moving towards an anti-racist, anti-oppressive lens.”
Moreover, Fairfield says student choice “is really important to their own identity,” in addition to, “their culture and their well-being.”
“If we want students to feel a sense of belonging at school, which we know is really important to student achievement and student mental health, then we need to, we need to put that at the forefront of a policy or a guideline that we are creating.”
“By emphasizing that choice we are acknowledging that decisions around student dress really need to be made by the student and their family, while at the same time ensuring that those guidelines set expectations for student dress that comply with the legal requirements we have as a school board.”
“We really felt that it was important to have that student voice,” says Fairfield, “this wasn’t just a student council. This just wasn’t a certain group of students. We really felt it was important to get the diversity, so, the principals intentionally selected students from all grades, you know, diverse backgrounds, and then we met with them and talked.”
“We had some really rich discussion with them,” says Fairfield, “We talked about, you know, what did they like about student draft guidelines or draft codes at that time? And then what would they like to see change?”
More information about the student dress guidelines can be found on their website, rrdsb.com, as well as on posters in all schools.
