Redding high school's dress code enforcement 'body shames' curvy girls, student says

A Shasta High School student says she wants her school district's student dress code changed so enforcement won't target girls more than boys, treats all body types equally and allows students to wear some garments that now are prohibited.

Aria del Rosario-Sabet, 17, sent out a survey to her peers at district high schools to learn their opinions of the current dress code, then reported her findings to Shasta Union School District administrators.

Her primary concern is the way teachers and staff have to enforce the current dress code, which mostly targets girls with certain body types, del Rosario-Sabet said. Women “who have a bigger chest or buttocks are” held to the dress code “way more often than women with a flatter chest."

The rules are biased "based on something that is uncontrollable — someone's own body,” she said.

Del Rosario-Sabet said she’d also like to have a dress code “that values a student's self-expression,” one “that allows for midriff-baring tops and strapless tops.”

The Shasta Union High School District’s current dress code doesn’t allow either garment, according to the district’s parent-student handbook.

The current code does allow some garments and other freedoms forbidden by some California school districts, del Rosario-Sabet said. Faculty and staff don't object to religious garments, unusual hair coloring, or to tattoos, as long as they don't say anything gang related and aren't hate speech, she said.

Students respond to dress code fairness survey

Between Dec. 6 and Dec. 12, approximately 10% of Enterprise and Shasta high schools’ student bodies combined — 280 students — responded to her survey, del Rosario-Sabet reported.

Survey questions asked if the school's dress code is unfairly targeting girls and students with certain body types, Shasta High School Principal Shane Kikut said.

“The majority of the students' responses express discomfort with the way the dress code is being enforced and the inconsistency that comes with the enforcement,” del Rosario-Sabet said.

Del Rosario-Sabet, a member of her district's Student Superintendent Advisory Committee, consulted Kikut for help sculpting survey questions.

"My role is to let her run with it. I enforce the dress code,” but del Rosario-Sabet’s involvement in student government gives her access to the student body for the survey, Kikut said.

Students who chose to fill out the survey did so on their own time, not during class, he said.

Shasta County school district should adopt Alameda's policies

While working on the survey, del Rosario-Sabet forwarded Alameda Unified School District's 2018 dress code to Kikut and other district administrators, hoping they'll adopt a similar policy, Kikut said.

In July 2018, the Alameda’s Board of Education approved changes to its dress code after board members found the old code "was enforced inconsistently" at schools and "more of the policy was focused on girls’ clothing than boys'." Girls were "sent out of the classroom for infractions more often than boys, which meant they were losing more class time than their male peers," the board reported.

According to the the Alameda board's policy revision, "Measuring the widths of (shoulder) straps and lengths of shorts in class or pointing out that a student was showing too much skin was resulting in embarrassment and shame for students. Such feelings can make it hard for students to concentrate on learning and can create long-term issues with body image."

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The new code says students can "dress in a manner that is comfortable and conducive to an active school day. Students should be able to wear clothing without fear of or actual unnecessary discipline or body shaming," and the dress code "should serve to support all students to develop a body-positive self-image,” according to the 2018 revised policy.

“I think the enforcement” in the Alameda policy “is a little vague...but overall I would like us to follow Alameda’s school dress code," Del Rosario-Sabet said.

Alameda's code also allows students to wear more casual and revealing clothing to school, including midriff-baring tops, halter and tube tops, pajamas and ripped jeans ― as long as no one can see students' underwear, according to the policy. "Our county isn’t even close to ready for that," Kikut said.

Just because opinions differ over the Alameda code doesn't mean Shasta Union School District administrators aren’t listening to what del Rosario-Sabet has to say, Kikut said.

“I am currently waiting to hear back” from administrators about revising the current dress code, del Rosario-Sabet said. That will likely come after the winter break.

Fierce determination and compassion fuel student's leadership

Whatever comes from del Rosario-Sabet's efforts, Kikut said he has nothing but respect for her. "She’s polite and respectful. I wish there could be more of this respectful communication in our community. You don’t have to be disagreeable to disagree," Kikut said.

Del Rosario-Sabet is a natural leader, and teachers praise the teen for supporting peers and "reaching out to students” going through tough times, said her mother, Marikit del Rosario-Sabet.

Aria del Rosario-Sabet has plenty to keep her busy while she waits for the district’s response. The senior hopes to attend UCLA in autumn 2024.

"I would love to be a human rights lawyer," she said. "I have also thought about working in politics. I mostly just want to find a job that affects change the best."

Her daughter has an innate fierce determination, Marikit del Rosario-Sabet said. “Once she sets her mind to do something, she will do her best to see it through to the end."

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding teen lobbies for high school dress code without gender bias