No shirt, no shoes, no education.

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Education: Cherokee County GA School District Says Goodbye to Dress Code 

By: Amber Pruitt 

Grade 11 Cherokee HS

In 2022, Cherokee County, GA School District had a major change to their dress code from years past. Students and teachers both have had problems with the county’s prior dress code rules. Most students, parents, and some faculty of the county have all agreed that some of the rules regarding the dress code are subject to sexualizing students, specifically female. Some rules that the county previously enforced are no thin spaghetti strapped tank tops, halter tops, tube tops, crop tops, low cut blouses, shorts/skirts/dresses that go past your fingertips, no ripped jeans with holes above the knees, no hats, hoods, bandanas, beanies, and lastly no clothing with drugs or inappropriate images. The board of superintendents is now giving faculty and staff permission to decide if a student’s attire is too inappropriate for school, or their classroom specifically (teachers’ discretion). The county originated the dress code in 1956 when times were different. There were different expectations for students and how they dress when they made the rules, from now. Thus, a breakthrough had to be made. Many students are thrilled about now finally being able to dress how they want without having to stress about getting in trouble.  

I was present at Cherokee High School’s 11th Grade Assembly in August 2022, when one of the assistant principals went into detail that their main focus was girls who wear shirts that show their stomach and or sports bras under a jacket, and students wearing hoodies along with the drug and inappropriate clothing. Before this dress code change, Cherokee County students often expressed that they felt the dress code was unfair due to the lack of enforcement school wide. Students say that only some girls get punished for wearing certain revealing clothing because they have a different body type. This points to the idea that the curvy girls who filled the clothes were more subject to being dress coded while a skinny girl who did not have the same curves would not receive a dress code. Now, students can wear what they want freely, curvy, or not.  

As a female student in the Cherokee County School District, I felt relieved by this change. Specific teachers often made me feel low of myself by using slang terms such as “hoochie mama” to describe an outfit I was wearing. Teachers let me get away with wearing many pieces I shouldn’t have been allowed to wear, but their words still made me think I was dressing to be sexualized. A student shouldn’t have to fear whether a faculty or student will look at them and experience inappropriate thoughts that aren’t suitable for a school environment. Throughout the years, there have been numerous complaints about what the female students wear during school hours and how it is considered “distracting.” Most of the complaints involve girls in spaghetti strap tank tops and shorts that are shorter than permissible. In 90-degree weather, you can see why a student would want to wear less clothing considering half of the day they’re walking outside to get to their cross-campus classes. Some students have also resorted to bringing a jacket to put on while inside of the building, just to take it off at class change. This is a major inconvenience to the students because lack of time between classes, but that’s its own topic for another time.  

Another major dress code items that students struggle to follow is the hat policy. Before this year hats where not allowed and if administration saw a student wearing a hat, it was confiscated from the student. A few teachers allowed their students to wear hats in their classrooms while most were strict and followed the no-hat rule. This year it’s up to the teacher or administrator. If a certain teacher has a problem with a student wearing a hat, that teacher is allowed to request that the student remove their hat. In past years, there was rumors of principals abusing their power by taking away as many students’ hats as they could. Some students’ hats can normally cost in the $45-70 price range. If any staff got a hold of a student’s hat, they normally would hold it until the end of the semester. With the new 2022 school year policy students can now wear their hats freely (for the most part).  

Members of the Cherokee County School District have suggested the idea of uniforms being mandatory county wide. Although this may sound good in context, many families are unable to afford said clothing, therefore causing an immediate break in the dress code rule. Requiring that a student come to school in a uniform that everyone else is wearing prevents freedom of expression. Uniforms can also influence lack of creativity among students. 

When the county in originated in 1956, most school policies required that girls wear skirts below their knees, and the boys wear uniforms, or casual wear. Most kids want to dress more comfortably in a school setting. People dress differently from almost 70 years ago and don’t want to be stuck in the same fashion generations. Time keeps changing. If someone walks into a store like Ross, or Kohls to find appropriate school clothes, knowing how strict the dress code is, it becomes difficult very quickly. The fashion genre in stores today consists mainly of ripped jeans and tank tops. Its difficult to try to dress up and fit in somewhere when everything you wear is a potential detention slip.  

New trends constantly keep arising and having a dress code holds students and faculty back from trying new things and showing it. Showing new things off around a big group of people like a school will increase other students wants to try something new too. Most students are likely to do what their classmate does because its “trendy” so by allowing students to dress freely, you’re allowing them the right to see what they like. Holding students back from dressing the way they chose prevents them from understanding freedom of expression. The students that our teachers are teaching today, are our future generations of lawyers, doctors, teachers, soldiers, entrepreneurs, and more. Cherokee County along with every other school in the nation should focus on making sure that the students are getting a proper education that should not depend on a student’s attire but wholly on their academic merit.