Should There Be WA State School Ban on Wearing All Black Clothing?

There's a middle school principal in Texas who is banning students from dressing up in all black clothing on the premises. The school makes the wild claim that it makes a student feel depressed if they wear all black.

Say what, now?

via GIPHY

I find this rule to be over the top strict. Dressing as you wish (with certain parameters on length notwithstandind) is a huge part of young adulthood. How you dress in middle school and high school helps a kid give a message without having to say it.

I remember when I was in middle school, for instance, all the "cool kids" wore a certain brand of leather loafers and if you were extra cool, you swirled the ends of your shoelaces into little loops around each other. The thought our school principal telling us we couldn't wear them is bananas!

Those Eastland loafers are now considered "vintage", which makes me cringe at how old this means for me. I'd still rock a pair of these kicks today, though. I think Gen X kids can relate to this feeling, ha!

Kids in Washington state don't have to worry about such ridiculous rules, thankfully. If a student is not attending a private school that has a uniform, then kids are generally free to wear what they like.

My daughter is in online school now, so she is free from such clench-fisted rules and regulations but the middle school she went to before had a few clothing restrictions that I thought were appropriate:

• No short shorts or super short skirts

• No tank tops

• No see-through clothing

• No dressing up in a monotone color that is considered one of the major "gang colors"

• No obscene or profanity on clothing and backpacks

• No hats, caps, and hoodies

"We are also eliminating a look that has taken over on campus with students wearing black tops with black bottoms, which has become more associated with depression and mental health issues and/or criminality than with happy and healthy kids ready to learn." - Principal DeSantis, Charles Middle School, El Paso, TX

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