Forney ISD is changing its dress code for the 2022–2023 school year, and one unhappy 10th-grade student garnered 2,300 petition signatures within two days to change it.
Brooklynn Hollaman wants Forney ISD to change the school dress code to its previous version. She is unhappy with the new, seven-page version prohibiting skirts, skorts, and dresses from being worn by students in the 5th grade or higher. Students in the fourth grade and below are exempted. Coats and jackets with hoods or hoodies are also not allowed to be worn inside the school.
Forney ISD said, “The use of a school dress code is established to improve student self-esteem, bridge socio-economic differences among students, and promote positive behavior, thereby enhancing school safety and improving the learning environment.”
Hollaman told WFAA that the changes were due to disciplinary problems and did not feel like the entire district should have to suffer. Her parents, Derick and Amy Hollaman agree.
Derick tried to get answers from the district about why the changes were being made. “I was told that basically, hoodies were a safety issue, that kids wouldn’t take the hoods off their head. […] When I asked regarding the dresses, I was told that they were trying to teach professionalism,” said Derick.
The Forney ISD created a YouTube video to explain why the dress code is important.
In it, Superintendent Justin Terry stated, “Things like creativity and collaboration are so important, but what’s also important are some of the foundational, baseline employability skills.”
“I don’t think this extra dress code is going to help the situation at all,” argued Amy Hollaman.
Brooklynn plans to take her petition to the school board meeting on Monday, June 27. She wants board members to change their minds and revert to the previous dress code.
The Dallas Express contacted the Executive Director of Marketing & Communications at Forney ISD, Kristin Zastoupil, for comment.
She echoed the superintendent’s statement given within the district’s video on the matter and stated via email, “In our annual review of the dress code, the few changes approved by the board were made to simplify the dress code for all 15,000 students.”