FORNEY, Texas – A North Texas school district is refusing to change course after facing intense backlash for banning hoodies and limiting dresses and skirts to a select number of elementary students.
Forney Independent School District, located east of Dallas, recently announced a new dress code policy that states no clothing with hoods (such as hoodies, jackets, coats, etc.) may be worn inside FISD buildings at any time. Dresses, skirts and skorts are only allowed for Pre-K through 4th-grade students.
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Commenters on the district’s Facebook page have been strongly against the new dress code and an FISD high schooler, Brooklynn Hollaman, started a petition to challenge the new dress code on change.org
A board meeting with district officials took place Monday and parents were able to voice their opinion on the changes.
According to a report from WFAA, Forney Mayor Pro-Tem James Traylor spoke before the board and said, “I work with women daily, and they wear dresses, skirts, and they’re professional.”
Traylor has a daughter who is a student in FISD.
“I don’t think any man should be telling a woman what they should wear,” Traylor said. “I think it needs to be changed. I think they need to repeal it.”
“Any sensible person can realize that this is completely wrong,” Hollaman said of the new dress code. “I even have a little sister that can’t wear skirts anymore.”
FISD officials shared a YouTube video regarding the dress code that shows a young girl saying “I may be a little young to understand what professionalism means right now, but the skills I’m learning are an essential part of being successful in my future career.”
“We are so excited to reset this bar with you - with our parents, with our community members, with all of our business partners - as we work together to take our schools, our classrooms back for the future of our kids to have a safe, enjoyable and excitable learning environment in Forney ISD,” Forney ISD Superintendent Justin Terry says in the video.
CBS DFW reported that one parent who attended the meeting called out some of the board members for wearing dresses and skirts saying “it’s almost like your narrative doesn’t fit reality.”
Nobody spoke publicly in support of the dress code changes at the meeting CBS DFW reported.
Officials with FISD refused to comment after multiple media outlet requests.