Most who replied to school uniform poll are against continuing policy next year
The results of a community poll on uniforms showed most voted no on whether the Rapides Parish School Board should continue its current policy for the next academic year.
Of the 8,470 responses, 5,742 people voted no. Just 2,408 people voted to keep the policy as it is.
The results were unveiled Tuesday during the board's education committee meeting. No action was taken, but the issue was forwarded to the board's discipline policy review committee. That committee already is beginning talk for recommendations it will make on policy changes for next year, beginning with discussion Wednesday on vaping.
Committee members got a breakdown on who responded and just how they voted. Most responses came from parents (3,889), followed by students (3,097), teachers and staff (1,003) and "other (383)," which could mean anyone in the community not falling into previous categories.
The category with the fewest responses, 98, was administrators.
Board President Dr. Stephen Chapman asked how many students were in the district. When he was told about 22,000, he noted that just more than 3,000 responded to the survey.
A lot of the comments mentioned how expensive it was for parents to buy uniforms and regular clothes for their children. Some stated that one of the original goals of the policy was to avoid bullying but that it wasn't working.
One commented insinuated the district was taking the wrong approach with its uniform policy.
"Dressing like a McDonald's worker doesn't prepare children for success," it read. "Focus needs to be on the behaviors that allows for the child to learn. How someone looks should never be the focus. Drop all dress code policies."
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But not everyone agreed.
"I think the policy is fine the way it is," read another comment.
Commenters were not identified by name. Comments, both for and against uniforms, taken from the survey included:
"Because it's easier to get dressed."
"We do not need uniforms. It will help parents save more money in this economy."
"We could just do jeans with uniform shirts."
"Don't fix something that wasn't broken."
"Some students are bullied as a result of not having nice uniforms, let alone nice clothes when they wear the same things repeatedly."
"Stricter policies on belt usage, specific jackets, backpacks, etc. Uniforms were meant for safety and bullying, and they are now too lax for it to make a difference."
"Students should be allowed to dress in our own clothes. The uniform is unnecessary considering that it does nothing to benefit our education. Nobody is paying attention to the T-shirt I'm wearing in seventh hour."
"No changes!!!"
"Hair length on boys should not be an issue. Hair color should not be an issue. No uniforms. Let these kids express themselves."
Also in the education committee, member Sandra Franklin and board member Wilton Barrios asked Superintendent Jeff Powell to look at options for attendance zones for Alexandria Middle Magnet, Bolton High, Tioga Junior and High schools using the Red River as a boundary.
Powell was asked to bring suggestions back to May committee meetings.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: More than 70% of poll respondents want no uniforms in Rapides schools
