SANTA ANA : Schools Adopt Ban on Gang-Like Attire

The Santa Ana Unified School District board has adopted a dress code that prohibits the district’s 47,700 students from wearing gang-related attire.

Board members, with little discussion at their meeting Tuesday, unanimously approved the new regulations, which set a districtwide minimum standard of dress. Under the new regulations, principals may ban anything they believe to be associated with gang membership, including sports-team jackets, jewelry, clothing of a certain color, or emblems unaffiliated with the school or related activities.

Principals may also forbid attire containing depictions of use of alcohol, drugs or other controlled substances, as well as offensive sexual, ethnic or racial language or symbols.

Other districts, including Garden Grove Unified, Tustin Unified and Orange Unified, have recently adopted similar regulations prohibiting gang-related clothing, and many schools have done so on their own.

Trustee Richard C. Hernandez praised the new guidelines, especially language that allows principals to define what constitutes “gang attire” and enables them to keep up with rapidly changing trends in clothing associated with gangs.

Board President Robert W. Balen agreed. “I think this is a very good, positive move for our district.”