A Clovis Unified dress code strictly enforced on the first day of school has upset several parents who claim girls were body-shamed and unfairly called out for wearing shorts.
Much of the issue stems from lululemon shorts. Many girls want to wear them. Clovis Unified has prohibited them.
Are lululemon shorts too short for girls to wear at school?
Administration and staff at Alta Sierra Intermediate spent a portion of the first day of school last week citing students deemed to have violated the district’s dress code policy — most notably girls who wore the shorts.
“We’ve heard horror stories of admin walking around, bending over and staring and gawking at the girls and their legs,” said Clovis Unified parent Brenna Hughes, who represents a group of parents who’ve expressed concerns about Alta Sierra’s handling of the dress code policy.
“The girls feel very uncomfortable. They were embarrassed and called out in front of their friends. For what? For wearing normal clothes? Now you have a lot of girls who are too terrified to wear shorts because they think the school might say they’re too short.”
Clovis Unified’s dress code states shorts need to have an inseam of at least five inches, and that spandex and Lycra shorts are not allowed.
Lululemon’s fashionably athletic shorts — a trendy look among teenage girls, as well many women — often have a three- or four-inch inseam and cover the leg about mid to high thigh.
The district says that the dress code, which applies to all transitional K-12 students, is in place to:
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Support student safety.
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Promote health and hygiene.
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Prepare students for their future.
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Establish a learning environment focused on education.
Hughes said the group of primarily mothers she’s been in communication with said they’ve noticed inconsistencies throughout the district with how the dress code is enforced. They cite photos posted on social media by various Clovis Unified schools that promote students who happen to be in dress code violation in the picture — whether wearing lululemon shorts, volleyball shorts or in a cheerleader uniform.
“You even have female teachers wearing lululemon shorts at school — and that’s fine — but the girls can’t wear them?” Hughes said. “I hardly doubt the student learning environment is being disrupted by teachers or students wearing these shorts. We live in the Valley and it gets very hot here some days.
“What I’m hearing from a lot of moms is ‘Can you relax the dress code?’ Because what we’ve seen from the girls especially, since a lot of them were pinged from dress code, they’re traumatized.”
Dress code enforcement at Alta Sierra
On the Friday before the Clovis Unified school year was about to begin, parents at Alta Sierra received an e-mail from principal Jennifer Carter to welcome families back and explain some of the rules and procedures.
Midway through the newsletter, the school’s dress code was explained, including that shorts need to have five-inch inseams.
In bold typing, the newsletter states that “lululemon shorts are not in dress code!”
Carter, when contacted by The Bee, directed comment to the district communications office:
“Our schools work to remind students of the dress code prior to the first day of school,” reads part of a statement from Clovis Unified.
However, several Clovis parents said they were annoyed with the late notice, which was sent three days before the first day of school.
In addition, they’ve said that five-inch lululemon shorts either don’t exist or are difficult to find.
“Imagine getting all of your back-to-school shopping for clothes done in advance, and then the weekend before school, you have to return the clothes that your child was so excited to wear, and find new clothes at the last minute,” Hughes said. “These same shorts weren’t an issue last year. They came out very militant-like this year.”
Fellow Clovis mom Melinda Bush also expressed frustration with the district’s dress code.
“We bought these shorts for her to wear at school on hot days,” Bush said. “She won’t wear them anymore. Now my daughter is wearing pants and baggy shirts.
“Girls are so afraid of being dress-coded. There’s no trust between students and admin.”
Under Fresno Unified’s handbook, each school can incorporate a dress code that exceeds the district’s dress and appearance policy.
At minimum in regards to shorts, Fresno Unified prohibits clothing where the buttocks or torso is exposed or shorts that would expose the entire thigh, such as micro mini shorts (aka Daisy dukes).
Central Unified’s dress code, meanwhile, hardly mentions any type policy on shorts. In general, the dress code states “clothes shall be worn as intended, must have an appropriate neckline, and be sufficient to conceal undergarments, which shall be worn and covered at all times.”
Dealing with adolescents
Making the situation all the more challenging to monitor and enforce dress code policies are the body insecurities that some adolescents could be experiencing, Hughes and Bush said based on their conversations with other Clovis moms.
Parents further expressed that the dress code enforcers have not always communicated with students discreetly, as the district policy states is to be done.
“The fear my daughter already has every day is: Is what she’s wearing bringing more attention to her body?” Bush said. “Because the kids this age, they just want to fit in. They don’t want to stand out.
“It’s so important that they feel that they belong. They are changing and growing so much. To be singled out, that’s not helping.”
Parents also said some of the adults enforcing the dress code failed to speak to the students in a more tactful or positive manner when addressing those in violation.
“You’re dealing with junior high kids and the most sensitive topic is their growth and development,” Bush said. “When you’re told ‘You shouldn’t be wearing that!’ — that’s traumatic.
“When you are being told ‘You’re showing something that you shouldn’t be showing’ — that’s just hurtful. Like they’re doing something wrong for just growing up.”
Violating dress code policy
Hughes and Bush noted that neither of their daughters have been dress-coded. But they spoke to several parents who expressed fearfulness of the dress code’s impact on their children’s well-being.
Students deemed to be violating dress code policy are asked to change (if they have an extra set of clothes that adhere to the code); or in the case of those at Alta Sierra, they were sent to a building known for having students who are in trouble and told they must remain there until parents come by to deliver a change of clothes.
“I’m pretty sure that every girl and their mom has had conversations about this dress code policy even if their kid wasn’t sent home for dress code violation,” Bush said. “Moms have stressed about it. They have no idea how to dress their kid with clothing that they’re willing to wear and is acceptable by the school dress code.
“So these girls are feeling fear and shame about what they’re wearing. (The school is) trying to have a dress code that keeps these girls modest and covered up. But this is too much. It’s not like we’re letting our daughters walk around half naked.”
Clovis Unified’s communications office said that staff is spending the first week or two to re-educate students “to ensure a consistent enforcement of the dress code at each site and across the District.”
It was unclear, however, if Clovis Unified would be willing to modify its dress code.
The Clovis Unified Governing Board last updated the district’s dress code in January 2022 following “a months-long, extensive review with students, parents and staff.”
