Ottawa public school board's new dress code allows students to 'show your style'
Ottawa's largest school board has unveiled a new permissive dress code for all elementary and secondary schools, saying it will allow students to "show your style" through clothing, head wear, hair style and accessories.
The Ottawa Carleton District School Board approved updates to the Safe Schools Policies this spring, which includes an updated dress code and School District Code of Conduct. Students will be allowed to wear tank tops, spaghetti straps, halter tops, ripped jeans and hats.
"All students have the right to express themselves in school through their choice of clothing, hair styles, jewelry, and accessories," says the board on its website.
"All students have the right to express themselves through their dress without fear of body shaming, bias, discrimination."
The OCDSB dress code says a student dress must:
- Cover the groin, buttocks and nipples with material that is not see-through or transparent
- Includes more than underwear as the only layer of clothing
- Include footwear with consideration for health and safety
- Ensure that the student's face is not fully obscured
- Clothing may not include wording or graphics that reasonably could be construed as promoting or symbolizing hate or discrimination, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, Cannabis, illegal activity, profanity, nudity, pornography; or that incites violence or harassment.
The OCDSB dress code allows:
Tops: shirt, t-shirt, sweater, vest, midriff-baring shirt, tank top, spaghetti straps, halter tops, tube top, backless top
Bottoms: pants, jeans (including ripped), sweatpants, shorts, skirts, dresses, leggings, fitted pants, yoga pants, ripped jeans
Headwear: hats, du-rags, bandanas, hoodies, creed-based headwear
The Ottawa Carleton District School Board says it's important to have one dress code for all schools within the board.
"Everybody is in the same place now, so one school couldn't say, 'I think that's not acceptable', and another school say, "that is,'" said Colin Anderson, OCDSB system principal of safe schools.
The board says enforcement will involve talking to students about possible violations, and asking them to change. Students could face possible suspension if they continuously disobey the rules.
"We are going to be requiring another level where the senior staff that supervises the principal has to sign off on that, and help the principal explore all the ways they could address the problem without going to suspension," Anderson said.
The board launched public consultations with staff, students and parents back in 2019. Anderson says the dress code is fair to students, and gives them the opportunity to make choices within the restrictions.
"Designed in a way where we are not asking people to make judgements, there is clarity around where those lines are."
The Ottawa Carleton District School Board's policy comes after a French Catholic school in Ottawa's east end made headlines for a dress code-blitz.
Students at Beatrice-Desloges Catholic High School held a protest on May 13 after teachers and staff conducted a dress code "blitz" they said left them feeling degraded and humiliated.
The Director of Education for the board apologized to parents and students for the blitz, adding the way the dress code was enforced was unacceptable.
An investigation by the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est found some students, mostly girls, were asked to leave the classroom to check to see if clothing complied with the dress code.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.