WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP — The last time the dress code was reviewed in the Lakota Schools, skirt lengths were longer, pants were worn at the waist and everyone knew what Bermuda shorts were.

        But that was 1989 ,and educators now say it's time to take a look at the dress code to see if it needs to be updated.

        A committee made up of students, teachers, parents and administrators will be formed to review the issue when classes resume in September.

        “There were some questions raised last spring,” said Superintendent Kathleen Klink. “How do you effectively enforce the dress code by today's styles?”

        Take, for example, strap widths of girls' tops. Are spaghetti straps too narrow? Or makeup: Should it be allowed at elementary schools? Those are just some of the questions Lakota Board of Education members raised during a discussion last week.

        “I fight with my daughter on this subject (makeup),” said board member Dan Warncke. “I don't know if I want to fight with everyone's daughter.”

        Board member Susan McLaughlin said she heard complaints that at one building boys were forbidden to wear hats, but girls weren't.

        Member Joan Powell suggested there might be a need to define a student's waist because pants are worn low, often with underwear showing.

        “The policy says shirts and tops should be waist-length but it doesn't address how low the waist is,” Mrs. Powell said. “I thought the elementary (dress code) left a lot to the imagination.”

        An updated dress code would leave less interpretation to administrators enforcing it and bring more consistency across the district, board members said. Whether separate guidelines for elementary and junior/senior high school students were needed, would also be addressed by the committee.

        Board President Sandy Wheatley didn't mind two sets of guidelines provided they were consistency enforced across the district.

        But Mrs. Powell said she favored a single set of rules for all grades.

        “It's hard on the parent's end if the rules change,” Mrs. Powell said.

        “It's time for a new committee to look at this. It needs to be updated for 2002.”

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