The story of a high school student who was suspended for speaking her mind after wearing a dress that didn’t adhere to specific dress codes is making headlines.
Lauren Wiggins outfit was deemed inappropriate and a distraction, due to its open back and exposed shoulders. She says she is tired of the double standard.
The Anglophone East School District wasn’t able to speak specifics on this case, but Superintendent Gregg Ingersoll was able to shed some light into their dress code policies.
He says each school has their own dress code, and rules apply to males and females, “Those rules are supposed to be developed with an in consultation with the school community, including students, parents and the Parent School Support Committee.”
Ingersoll says if rules aren’t being followed, the issue has to be addressed, “Anything that might distract from that learning process, is something that they(the school) have to get involved in. Even though our primary focus is learning and it’s not how people dress, but sometimes we have to get into it, because it can, in some circumstances, take away from the learning process.”
Ingersoll says fashions change and schools sometimes have to revisit their dress codes and look at whether there need to be changes based on things that happen.
The Superintendent says, “Students do have the freedom to express their opinion about things, we welcome that, but when it reaches a point that we feel a rule is not being followed or what they’re doing is distracting from what their parents sent them to school for in the first place, we have to address that.”
This isn’t the first controversy in the province over dress codes. In November last year, students in Fredericton held protests over what they called discriminatory dress codes.
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