St. Johns County school board approves dress code for new school year, met with disappointment

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Bartram Trail High School’s yearbook has been the talk of the summer in St. Johns County.

After dozens of girls’ yearbook photos were edited, parents and students pushed for change. That push was met with disappointment at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

“The problem lies in the fact that we come to these school board meetings, there’s no discussion. It’s just us talking and they’re not hearing what we’re saying or they’re not listening,” parent Stephanie Fabre said.

RELATED: SJC School Board unveiling proposed changes to the dress code policy for the upcoming school year

The school board approved a dress code with rules such as clothing must cover one armpit to other and down to the mid-thigh. Rips or tears above the mid-thigh must not show skin.

School board member Patrick Canan felt the new code is fair.

“You can’t make everyone happy, but I think overall we did the right thing,” Canan said.

Students think some rules missed the point.

“If they just made a general inseam to give people a guide rather than measuring it and making it super strict, I think it would be a lot better than saying ‘mid-thigh’ because I feel like it’s too vague,” student Riley O’Keefe said.

MORE: St. Johns County School District releases dress code survey results

O’Keefe was one of the girls whose yearbook photo was edited last May.

Another question they’re left with: what happened to the dress code committee that never met once?

“We had to do things kind of quickly. Whether or not there’s a committee in the future, I’m not sure. I’m hoping this goes really well and enforcement becomes consistent,” Canan said.

Parents and students said the fight isn’t over.

“I think it’ll definitely be a continual effort. We’ll be watching and probably requesting dress code violations as the year goes on,” Fabre said.

The code states enforcement will focus on positive guidance without embarrassment.

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