As we prepare to welcome students back to school on Monday, August 28th for the 2023-2024 school year, we wanted to make you aware that we have revised our student dress code to move away from a school uniform.
It is critically important that all parents and guardians review this new dress code to understand what is and is not acceptable for students to wear. That information is contained in this letter and is posted on our District website at http://www.hbgsd.us/
This decision was made based on several factors, including the costliness of buying both uniform clothing and casual clothing, student desire to have more choice over what to wear to school, the availability of uniform clothing in all sizes in our area, and students being excluded from school because they didn't come to school wearing a uniform. In a district-wide survey, about 75% of the approximately 1,000 parents and students who responded said they were in favor of moving away from a school uniform.
Many other school districts with similar demographic profiles to Harrisburg that have made this move have not seen increases in student discipline issues as a result of this change, and have found the change has actually made students feel better about attending school.
In summary, students may wear their own clothing, but the following are NOT permitted:
- No hooded shirts or sweatshirts (hoodies)
- No tank tops, halter tops, or spaghetti string tops
- No offensive graphics or images on any clothing
- No sheer, translucent, or lace on the torso
- For pants, no tears or rips above the knee
- No visible undergarments or boxer shorts worn on the outside
- Pants must not be saggy below the waist
- For footwear-- No crocs, flip-flops, slides,-slippers, open toed shoes, or high heels above 1 inch
- No hats, caps, bandannas, sunglasses, visors, and face masks unless medically necessary or for religious reasons
Full Dress Code
Spanish Version
