Despite having a dress code already in place, Chambersburg Area School Board Members proposed changing it Wednesday night, to make it more strict.
But hours after hearing from angry parents, they decided to hold off voting on the issue.
A lot of parents didn't like the way the school drew up the revisions to the policy, saying they made the decision behind closed doors, and saying they felt left out in the entire process. Many said it's too expensive to buy new clothes, they just can't afford it and were happy to see board members hold off on making a decision.
The proposed policy would ban t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, shirts without collars, with patterns or stripes. There would also be restrictions on shorts, skirts and dresses.
There would even be restrictions on what students' hair can look like.
Some school board leaders said the revised dress code is needed to enhance school safety, improve learning, self esteem and said it would be less stressful on families.
At tonight's meeting, there were some parents who were for the dress code and others who were against it. But they agreed on one thing, they didn't like the way the school board members handled things. The parents say the school board did it secretly, adding they felt bullied because they were never allowed to participate in the process.
One angry dad said the school board didn't do enough. "We did not have enough, you were not aggressive enough in trying to get the word out to the community that you want their input."
Another angry dad said, "This is frightening that the school board feels they can pass a proposal while publicly admitting they have no statistics for such policy."
The new rules would have taken effect next school year, but after hearing from angry parents and students the board decided to hold off on voting on the dress code.
"I honestly don't agree with the dress code because it's a public school. I think we should be able to express how we want to within reason," said Brittany Sherman, a junior in the district.
Another junior, Summer Bard, thinks the new policy would be too expensive. "We'd have to by almost four uniforms, we have scrubs, gym uniforms, school uniforms and clothes, so just think about how much money out parents would have to spend."
"I think it's sort of a waste of time, energy and resources. We've lived long enough without school uniforms and we can live without them." said Geof Lambert, a parent in the district.
Some parents say the dress code, which the school has had in place for decades, hasn't really been inforced.
At the end of the night it was unclear for five of the board members why they were trying to revise it in the first place.
But hours after hearing from angry parents, they decided to hold off voting on the issue.
A lot of parents didn't like the way the school drew up the revisions to the policy, saying they made the decision behind closed doors, and saying they felt left out in the entire process. Many said it's too expensive to buy new clothes, they just can't afford it and were happy to see board members hold off on making a decision.
The proposed policy would ban t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, shirts without collars, with patterns or stripes. There would also be restrictions on shorts, skirts and dresses.
There would even be restrictions on what students' hair can look like.
Some school board leaders said the revised dress code is needed to enhance school safety, improve learning, self esteem and said it would be less stressful on families.
At tonight's meeting, there were some parents who were for the dress code and others who were against it. But they agreed on one thing, they didn't like the way the school board members handled things. The parents say the school board did it secretly, adding they felt bullied because they were never allowed to participate in the process.
One angry dad said the school board didn't do enough. "We did not have enough, you were not aggressive enough in trying to get the word out to the community that you want their input."
Another angry dad said, "This is frightening that the school board feels they can pass a proposal while publicly admitting they have no statistics for such policy."
The new rules would have taken effect next school year, but after hearing from angry parents and students the board decided to hold off on voting on the dress code.
"I honestly don't agree with the dress code because it's a public school. I think we should be able to express how we want to within reason," said Brittany Sherman, a junior in the district.
Another junior, Summer Bard, thinks the new policy would be too expensive. "We'd have to by almost four uniforms, we have scrubs, gym uniforms, school uniforms and clothes, so just think about how much money out parents would have to spend."
"I think it's sort of a waste of time, energy and resources. We've lived long enough without school uniforms and we can live without them." said Geof Lambert, a parent in the district.
Some parents say the dress code, which the school has had in place for decades, hasn't really been inforced.
At the end of the night it was unclear for five of the board members why they were trying to revise it in the first place.