Alabama district bans popular teenage apparel as it introduces one of the strictest dress codes in the US – here’s what student’s can NOT wear

An Alabama school district appears to be taking on the role of fashion police after implementing perhaps the strictest dress code for high school teens in the country.

Bessemer City High School bans everything from hoodies and leggings to flip-flops and Crocs.

While some clothing items are typically considered inappropriate for the classroom, such as bandanas and sunglasses, other exclusions seem more extreme, such as a ban on comfortable pajama pants or jeans with holes in them.

School administrators indicate that all of the items listed, including open shoes, hoodies and leggings, have been formally in violation of the rules for years. Only now are school administrators taking a stand and threatening students with suspension if they break the rules.

“We’re fine with them being individual. We just want to make sure it’s within the guidelines of our dress code,” said director Stoney Pritchett, pictured.

“Bessemer City Schools will strictly enforce the dress code and will not admit any student to class wearing inappropriate or questionable clothing,” the school wrote in a letter to students and parents.

“The faculty and the board must make students aware that clothing and appearance can have a real influence on the way others see the student as an individual and how they behave,” the board’s statement reads.

‘Therefore, every student must exercise reasonable judgment, tact and decency in choosing school attire and personal appearance.’

Teachers say students will be less distracted if they adhere to a stricter school dress code, which ultimately benefits learning.

However, there are no plans to introduce a school uniform, for example, which would immediately solve most problems.

“We’re fine with them being individual. We just want to make sure it’s within the guidelines of our dress code,” said director Stoney Pritchett and counselor Tahuna Thomas.

Bessemer High School is introducing new dress code for students, with hoodies not allowed. Students are seen in the cafeteria earlier this year

Bessemer High School Bans Some of the Most Worn Items by Teens

Students at the school were seen earlier this year. Baseball caps and hoodies will no longer be allowed starting in August

“This policy is a dress code to promote a sense of community and limit distractions so students can focus on their studies,” the school wrote on Facebook.

Principal Pritchett also said that enforcing the dress code would make it safer for students.

“We have drills a lot in high school. We have tornado drills, fire drills, weather drills,” Pritchett told COLUMN.

“We have to line up and go outside and things like that. We want to make sure kids can move around the building safely.

“There are other things that happen that the school can’t prevent. We just want to make sure that nobody breaks their leg or ankle, because the school is liable, and we want to make sure that everybody is safe.”

Bessemer City School District to take stricter action on student dress codes when school starts in August

The school has released detailed instructions on how students should interpret the new dress code

When the school year begins on August 8 at Bessemer City High School, students may not wear:

• Sunglasses in the building, except with a doctor’s prescription
• Sheer, tight, spandex, jeggings, yoga pants and/or revealing clothing
• Open or chain straps, straps without buckle, electronic straps for buckles or hood ‘fish hooks’
• Loose overalls
• Trousers / Pants that sag
• Hats, caps, head coverings and other head coverings in campus buildings, with the exception of religious head coverings
• Curlers, skewers, combs or chopsticks
• Bandanas or sashes everywhere as part of the clothing
• Clothes with holes above the knee
• Slippers/house shoes unless approved by a doctor or school administrator
• Clothing with unacceptable and/or inappropriate stickers, slogans or images; profanity; language that suggests or refers to immoral behavior; gang activity; alcohol; drugs; or tobacco
• Any clothing and/or head covering that directly or by innuendo disrespects (or is perceived to disrespect) a student’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or disability and/or causes embarrassment (including negative feelings, disharmony, racial or religious discord, intimidation, shame, and/or fear) to the School Board.
• Trench coats or Matrix jackets, pyjama blankets or cuddly toys may not be worn or brought to school.
• Slides / Open toe shoes
• Hoodies (during the school day)