Dress Code for Students Policy and Procedures
Thanks to the work of Girls’ Uniform Agenda’s WA representative Ms Krystina Myhre, and her daughter Sofia, the WA Department of Education has changed its Dress Code for Students Policy and Procedures. Much to our delight, the new policy and procedure, effective 1 January 2018, states that;
“Councils and boards are encouraged to develop, as far as practicable, dress code requirements that do not discriminate on the basis of gender. This must include gender neutral options but may also involve items that are similar, but not necessarily the same, for all students. For example, a dress code could include gender neutral shirts and jackets for all students but may also include different styles of pants and shorts that suppliers categorise as male and female versions. Where community consultation indicates that gender specific items are popular (e.g. dresses, skirts) then it is appropriate to make those options available. In the case of female students, options must not be limited to skirts, dresses, skorts and culottes”.
Clearly, any school that limits girls options to skirts and/or dresses is breaching this policy.
The Dress Code for Students Policy and Procedure can be found here:
Letter for Education Department
If your school is not following the Department’s policy, or you think the policy is inadequate to ensure shorts and pants are made available to girls, write to the department so that they can take action.
Use our letter template that can be downloaded and edited here.