A Code That Only the ‘50s Could Love

Oh puh-leez! Three so-called fundamental schools in the Pomona Unified School District have decreed that teachers cannot do their jobs properly unless they’re dressed “properly.” For women like elementary teacher Roxanne Pittman, that means that they have to look, well, like women. That is, wear skirts.

To Pittman, that policy seems unfair and a clear violation of state law. To us, Pomona Unified’s policy is that as well as just plain ridiculous, a throwback to an era we thought had long passed.

Pittman has launched a court challenge to the dress code at her school, Yorba Elementary, and two others because officials of the district have so far refused to budge on a policy that at least one school board member concedes is “archaic.” The skirts-and-dresses-only code applies to all female students and faculty members at fundamental schools, which emphasize an old-fashioned blend of discipline and academics.

We agree with Pittman that dresses can be uncomfortable and interfere with her ability to supervise dozens of kids on busy school campuses. More important, the dresses-only policy patently violates a 1994 statute making it unlawful for employers to refuse to allow female employees to wear pants. Worse, it sends the wrong message to girls about how they “should” look.

Educators around the state have imposed strict dress codes and uniforms in recent years, hoping they will reduce behavioral problems and improve student achievement. We’re all for such experimentation as long as girls and boys, men and women are treated equally. But apparently that’s not what’s happening in Pomona. This may come as a surprise to district officials there but, psst, the 1950s are over.