The board believes inappropriate student appearance causes material and substantial disruption to the school environment and/or presents a threat to the health and safety of students, employees and visitors. Therefore, to ensure an orderly learning environment, students and parents are responsible for the student wearing clean and appropriate clothing in attendance at school and school activities.
It is inappropriate and a violation of school policy for students to wear apparel promoting products that are illegal for use by minors and clothing displaying obscene material, profanity, or with references to prohibited conduct. Dress that is a threat to health or safety or is disruptive to the learning environment will not be acceptable. Further, certain written or spoken words or symbols on clothing or on the person may be prohibited, without being demonstrably disruptive, if the expression conflicts with the schools’ basic educational mission. The STC educational mission includes, but is not limited to, the goal of establishing a common core of values which support human dignity, self-respect, and responsibility towards self and others.
The presence of gang activity in the school and community has been detected by local law enforcement, school, and consultant personnel. Such activity has included the selling of controlled substances, violence, and intimidation.
The term “gang” in this policy is defined as a “criminal street gang’ as defined in Iowa law 723.A. A criminal street gang means any ongoing organization, association or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more criminal acts, which has an identifiable name or identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity. “Pattern of criminal gang activity” means commission, attempt to commit, conspiring to commit, or solicitation of two or more criminal acts, provided the criminal acts were committed on separate dates or by two or more persons who are members of, or belong to, the same criminal street gang.
To ensure an orderly learning environment, gang related behavior such as signs, symbols, and gestures are prohibited on school property, buses, and school sponsored events. Prohibited behavior may include apparel, jewelry, accessory, book, or manner of grooming which, by virtue of its color, arrangement, trademark, symbol or any other attribute, denotes membership in a gang and creates a danger of the commission of unlawful acts or violation of school regulations, or the substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school. Similarly, behavior is prohibited which is identified as involving gang recruitment, initiation, hazing, wearing of colors with gang affiliations, intimidation, fighting, assault, or establishment of turf on school property or at school functions and school-related activities. Such behavior is likely to cause physical harm or personal degradation or disgrace which is harmful to self or to others and disruptive of the learning atmosphere of a school.
School personnel are authorized to cause the removal of gang signs and symbols appearing on personal items as well as those that are on public property. Persons who refuse to remove signs and symbols, which have gang implications or who behave in a manner which is gang related are subject to discipline up to and including removal from activities, detention, suspension or expulsion from school.
(November 18, 1996; June 16, 1997; March 21, 2011; January 19, 2015; August 19, 2019)