(Radio Iowa) – Iowa public schools would have to adopt student dress codes that promote personal hygiene, neatness and modesty under a bill that’s cleared a House subcommittee.
Republican Representative Samantha Fett of Carlisle says the bill sets minimum standards that establish the guardrails for students and the administrators who must enforce the rules. Representative Angel Ramirez, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids who works in a middle school, says requiring students to wear clothes that are clean and in good repair would impact poorer students.
The bill would ban any gang-related attire and it says a student’s clothes must adequately cover the body. Exposing undergarments or midriffs would be prohibited.
