(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Grade schools run by the Department of Defense for the families of military personnel have introduced a gender-neutral dress code for students for the 2023-2024 school year.
Bureaucrats with the Department of Defense Education Activity replaced gender-specific terms and language with a “positive, equitable approach to handling dress code infractions.”
According to the Daily Caller, administrators plan to make full use of “teachable moments” to address any infractions that may arise.
DoDEA has been working on an updated dress code for all of its schools world-wide. The attachment is a memo of that new policy which will take effect July 1, 2023. pic.twitter.com/nGjm0dOzQe
— Lakenheath Lancers (@LakenheathLanc1) May 9, 2023
The new regulations standardized the dress code throughout all DoDEA schools, removing variances on clothing items like spaghetti straps, halter tops, baggy pants and skin-tight clothing.
The new policy did not include any guidance on the length of skirts or shorts, such as the “fingertip rule.”
Students must don solid clothing that provides full coverage from armpit to mid-thigh. Shirts must have sleeves and cannot be “transparent or translucent.” Articles of clothing featuring profanities; patterns deemed as discriminatory against race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability or religion; encouragement for drinking and drug use; and violence-promoting slogans are also banned.
“The goal, from the outset, was to create a dress code that is equitable, nonbiased and supports the learning environment while allowing individual expression,” DoDEA spokesperson Will Griffin said.
Griffin explained that the universal dress code would allow the more transient student population to adapt to other military schools.
The DoDEA started revising the policy in 2021. The federally-funded school system hired an outside committee for civil rights and several diversity, equity and inclusion specialists to assist with the project.
The administrators also took public comments from students and parents into account. Students requested the administration permit both hats and ripped jeans, to which the school acquiesced.
“They wanted to be able to express themselves, to have their own individuality and to feel like they were part of the decision of what they could wear to school,” said DoDEA education specialist Joy Medley.
There are 160 DoDEA schools across the globe. The new dress code goes into effect at all of the institutions on July 1, 2023.
The Department of Defense Education Activity has approved a new gender-neutral student dress code that goes into effect July 1 at all 160 DODEA schools in the Pacific, Europe and Americas regions, including Puerto Rico and Cuba.https://t.co/FrZ5lZgJuV
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) May 19, 2023
The DoDEA’s fixation on DEI initiatives has met with some backlash from conservatives. In April, after word circulated about its racist diversity chief, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, led the successful effort to disband the DEI unit.
The Pentagon has announced it will disband the DoDEA DEI unit
This news comes shortly after Rep Roy shed light on how American taxpayers were funding this divisive training led by a racist diversity chief
This is just the beginning of draining the swamp! #ShrinkDCGrowAmerica pic.twitter.com/nanPNuKdhH
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) April 12, 2023
