HB 837

Abstract

Board of Education; school boards; dress or grooming codes. Requires the Board of Education to include in its guidelines and model policies for codes of student conduct (i) standards for reducing bias and harassment in the enforcement of any code of student conduct and (ii) standards for dress or grooming codes, which the bill defines as any practice, policy, or portion of a code of student conduct adopted by a school board that governs or restricts the attire of any enrolled student. The bill permits any school board to include in its code of student conduct a dress or grooming code. The bill requires any dress or grooming code included in a school board's code of student conduct or otherwise adopted by a school board to (a) permit any student to wear any religiously and ethnically specific or significant head covering or hairstyle, including hijabs, yarmulkes, headwraps, braids, locs, and cornrows; (b) maintain gender neutrality by subjecting any student to the same set of rules and standards regardless of gender; (c) not have a disparate impact on students of a particular gender; (d) be clear, specific, and objective in defining terms, if used; (e) prohibit any school board employee from enforcing the dress or grooming code by direct physical contact with a student or a student's attire; and (f) prohibit any school board employee from requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual, including the enforcing school board employee, to comply with the dress or grooming code.

Board of Education; school boards; dress or grooming codes.Requires the Board of Education to include in its guidelines and model policiesfor codes of student conduct (i) standards for reducing bias and harassment inthe enforcement of any code of student conduct and (ii) standards for dress orgrooming codes, which the bill defines as any practice, policy, or portion of acode of student conduct adopted by a school board that governs or restricts theattire of any enrolled student. The bill permits any school board to include inits code of student conduct a dress or grooming code. The bill prohibits anyschool board that does not include in its code of student a dress or groomingcode from subjecting a student to discipline for reasons typically assigned toa dress or grooming code. The bill requires any dress or grooming code includedin a school board's code of student conduct or otherwise adopted by a schoolboard to (a) permit any student to wear any religiously, ethnically, orculturally specific or significant head covering or hairstyle, includinghijabs, yarmulkes, headwraps, braids, locs, and cornrows; (b) maintain genderneutrality by subjecting any student to the same set of rules and standardsregardless of gender; (c) not have a disparate impact on students of aparticular gender; (d) be clear, specific, and objective and avoid anysubjective term or standard such as "distracting,""provocative," or "inappropriate"; (e) prohibit any schoolboard employee from enforcing the dress or grooming code by direct physicalcontact with a student or a student's attire; and (f) prohibit any school boardemployee from requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual,including the enforcing school board employee, to comply with the dress orgrooming code.