Burbank Students Stage Protest Over Dress Code : Schools: About 60 youths join walkout. They voice anger at not being consulted about ban on gang attire.

Chanting “no dress code,” about 60 Burbank High School students staged a walkout Wednesday to protest a new districtwide ban on gang-related attire.

“We really did it just so that they would listen to us,” said Raquel Castaneda, a 16-year-old sophomore.

The group of mostly juniors and sophomores said they were angry that the new code was written and implemented without consulting students. After walking out of school at 10:15 a.m., the students had planned to march to Burbank City Hall to voice their complaints.

There were no arrests, but about half of the students were escorted back to school, some in police cars.

Although school administrators fully support the ban, they said they also respect students’ concerns about being included in the process.

“They feel that they were left out and it’s a legitimate concern,” Assistant Principal Gaylene Van Zjill said. “We’re going to show them the way they can adequately air their complaints before the school board and the City Council.”

The walkout began near the end of a nutrition break when groups of students jumped a fence and marched to the front of the school and toward City Hall. After police escorted students back to school, Van Zjill spent 90 minutes talking to the students, listening to their concerns and explaining the school’s position.

Some students left the meeting with a new view of the administration.

“I feel the administration and the students have an understanding, that they support us,” junior Monique Herrera said. “They’re willing to help us voice our opinion.”

Herrera and a few other students made it to City Hall on Wednesday but were told they needed to take their concerns to the school board.

The ban, which went into effect in all Burbank schools Jan. 3, prohibits numerous articles of clothing including oversized pants, white T-shirts, black and white Starter jackets, belts with initialed buckles, baseball caps and bandannas.

Since it was implemented, at least four high school students and two middle school students have been suspended for violating the ban.

School board member Denise Wilcox said the code is based on provisions of a state law that went into effect last year, allowing districts to adopt anti-gang dress codes. The board also consulted with the Burbank Police Department and school officials during a workshop last summer.

“We didn’t see there was a lot of room for debate,” Wilcox said. “That’s why there weren’t a lot of workshops to get student input.”

Response among students has been mixed. Some wholeheartedly support the ban, while others have argued that some of the banned clothes are merely a fashion statement, not an indication of gang membership.

“Everybody wears baggy clothes,” Castaneda said. “I wear baggy pants and we are not gang members. It’s also an issue of economics. No one has $200 to buy four new pairs of pants.”

Jocelyn Y. Stewart is a Times staff writer. Ed Bond is a correspondent.