ANSON — Returning to the issue of students wearing hoodies on campus, interim Superintendent Brian Ratliff provided an update on the matter during July’s Board of Education meeting.
Confirming his confidence in school administrators’ ability to use discretion when handling the sensitive topic of hoodies on a case by case basis in the classroom, Ratliff next addressed ideas discussed by board members at the June meeting, specifically the suggestion of banning hoodies outright on school premises.
“If we are going to do something like that, it does not need to be specific to one clothing item, it would need to be in general about dress code if that is what we are going to do,” Ratliff said.
Ratliff advised board members to make him aware of any issues they are concerned about, assuring them another look will be taken at the issue should concerns arise.
“We certainly could revisit the notion of a task force or committee development as long as it has purpose and with the outcome of being real productive in our school community. I really don’t feel like we need to get into the weeds on that, which is just my personal opinion and professional opinion, which always goes hand-in-hand,” Ratliff said.
Acknowledging Anson County School District principals are not perfect, Ratliff reiterated his opinion and confidence the issue of hoodies can be addressed by school administrators. He then asked principals attending the meeting to raise their hands to show their commitment to addressing hoodie wear on an individual basis.
“They [administrators’] know exactly what they are doing. They know how to handle these situations. If we get information from our leaders, I trust them, and if they start sharing with me and say ‘Hey, Dr. Ratliff we have some concerns or issues, we think we need to be more uniform.’ And if they express that concern with us from a leadership perspective, I certainly would revisit it. I would be glad to do that,” Ratliff said.
Ratliff requested the school board work together as a team to work through these types of housekeeping issues administratively. Board member Judy Little questioned, “Are you saying, that with the hoodies we will let administration handle that, so that is not in our dress code booklet about hoodies.”
Admitting to not having the dress code in front of him for reference, Ratliff said he believed hoodies to fall under headgear in the dress code booklet. According to Anson County Schools’ updated online dress code policy, under headgear and personal appearance states, hats, sweatbands, bandanas, and sunglasses are prohibited inside school buildings. Combs and other hair grooming items cannot be visible in the hair.
“I understand that it is headgear, so anything that would be intrusive. I just want to make sure that if it is really an issue and it continues to be an issue, then we can focus on whether or not hoodies are the issue. I don’t think it is about that particular apparel, I think it is all about disruption and it is all about having administrative discretion to address those on an individual basis,” Ratliff said.
He did not speak on previous concerns brought forth by board members about school safety, as a child wearing a hoodie could potentially be hiding a weapon within the baggy clothing. Ratliff went on to express his confidence in the framework of the current dress code, though its wording would seemingly prohibit hoodies being worn anywhere on campus.
“I am just concerned that there are some things our children are choosing to do, but I think that is the purpose of having teachers. There are some things that are a distraction and there are some things that I think will cause children not to learn. I do not think a child needs to be covered up in order to learn. You are saying it is not a problem, but I have talked to many who have come to me about that problem,” said Bobbie Little, who sites on the Anson County Schools Board of Education.
Ratliff acknowledged Little’s concerns.
“The leadership team I think needs to talk about that, (and) look at our policy that we currently have within the context of that policy. If there is anything that is a disruption, I agree 100 percent. Our principals, I would dare say, I don’t want to speak for our discussions that are coming about this. We will get [together] administratively, and we will have these conversations. If there is a wide-spread problem, obviously we will address it, and that is why we would revisit it here if we needed to from a policy standpoint. You are 100 percent right they should not be wearing hoodies for no reason and so I think our principals have a good understanding, I think they have the discretion, to know that there are common places in the hallway, wherever it might be, that we will come together as a leadership team to make sure that that is not taking place,” Ratliff said.
For her part, Little voiced her desire that the issue not become one of discrimination.
“With all the gangs and stuff we got going on… I know we are saying we are going to let the administration handle that, but I don’t want it to grow,” Little said.
Broaching the larger issue of a teacher serving as a role model for their students, Little recalled when she was a girl, she would go home and practice emulating her teachers. Mourning society’s lack of emphasis on professional attire, Little believes teachers could be mistaken for students by how they are dressing in their classrooms. They have got to come appropriate… not only our children, really we need to revisit our teacher dress code because it is a lot of distraction.”
Responding to Little’s concerns, Ratliff explained that allowing administrators discretion to enforce dress code policies on a case by case basis, and dependent upon where a student is within school grounds, does not mean the district will allow the wearing of any material or any apparel that would be a distraction or give the optics of it being inappropriate. He clarified when it comes down to individual cases, the administrative staff needs to handle the issue.
“Board leadership may want to revisit policy. If it needs to be real specific, then we need to get down in the weeds and make it more specific. For us to generally say you can’t do this, you can’t do that, I just don’t think that is an appropriate way to have regulations that support the policy. There is no condoning here of changing the dress code.”
Addressing where to find the district’s dress code, Jim Turner explained the dress code can be viewed on the school district’s website under Leadership. On the drop down menu of choices, the dress code is listed under the board policy manual.
Turner said, “The dress code is covered on policy number 4316 section B item five deals with headgear and things like that. I studied it quite a bit this afternoon… None of us agree with everything that is there, but we live with it.”
Determined to end the discussion on a positive note, Ratliff said, “Our leadership needs to have situational leadership capabilities and we are going to push that and we are going to have high expectations to include the rest of our colleagues.”
