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DERBY — Members of the Derby Board of Education are on track to adopt a new, districtwide school uniform policy that will go into effect at the start of the next school year.
The board had its “first reading” of the policy at its meeting on Nov. 20. A “first reading” is when the board reads a policy change to the public to let the community know what’s being proposed.
A “second reading” is scheduled for the board’s next meeting, scheduled for Dec. 19. The board will likely adopt the policy and make it official during that meeting. The school board posts meeting announcements here.
School board chairman Jim Gildea said the new dress code policy puts Derby in line with surrounding districts, including Ansonia. Gildea said uniforms are needed for two reasons: to prepare students for life after high school, and to stop administrators from wasting time trying to decide whether a student’s attire violates the existing dress code policy.
“It’s simply about preparing kids for life after school when you do need to dress a certain way,” Gildea said on Nov. 20. “It’s about freeing our administrators up to educate.”
In a Valley Indy Q&A published in September, Derby High School Principal Jennifer Olson said dress code violations were an issue in previous years.
“The more time I spend addressing basic expectations like dress code violations, the less time I have to focus on creating meaningful opportunities and experiences for everyone. The top priority should be making Derby High School an outstanding place for students to learn and for teachers and staff to enjoy coming to work,” she said.
Click here to read the complete Q&A.
An undated school district poll from a previous school year showed 56.6 percent of the 189 respondents in favor of school uniforms in Derby.
A Valley Indy reader poll in September showed 52.6 percent of 1,167 respondents in favor.
While the school uniform policy has support among staff, the school board, and the public — students might be a different story.
An Oct. 30 story in the Derby High School newspaper carried the headline “Students at Derby are against uniforms.” The article quoted students as saying school uniforms infringe upon self expression and independence. It suggested the existing policy be tweaked instead of being replaced. The school district last amended the current policy in 2023.
Six out of seven Derby students interviewed during a Nov. 8 WRBR student news broadcast said they were against the new policy.
Here are some of the requirements listed in the new school uniform policy. The complete policy is embedded below as screenshot images.
Pre‑K through grade 12:
* Solid-colored polo shirts (red, white, gray) or crew neck shirts as displayed on the website (presumably after the policy is adopted)
* Khaki or black pants, shorts or skirts. Shorts and skirts must be an appropriate length
* “Outerwear,” such as sweaters, sweatshirts or cardigans are allowed if they are solid colored and red, black, or white
* No sandals, slides, flip flops or slippers
* The policy also states that school uniform purchases “may” be purchased through designated vendors or school-approved suppliers. Specifics, including prices, will be given out by the schools.
The adoption of school uniform policies have risen dramatically in the U.S. — and the research is all over the place.
Just under 19 percent of public schools in the U.S. have uniforms, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That’s a big jump from 1996, when just three percent of public schools required uniforms, according to the U.S. Department of Education. There was a push for school uniforms under President Bill Clinton’s administration. The belief was that uniforms would cut down on disciplinary issues, according to this 2011 report.
A 2022 study found that uniforms didn’t make much of a difference in areas such as social skills, behavior, or attendance — except in districts with high poverty rates, where there was “some evidence” of improved attendance. Still other studies have found school uniforms help kids to feel a sense of belonging in their school community. Click here for an overview of the issue.
Click here for a previous Valley Indy story on the issue in Derby.
