Dress Code Causing Problems At Woodland Hills High School

Dozens of students at a Pittsburgh-area high school were sent home after ignoring a new dress code that requires them to tuck in their shirts.

About 120 students showed up at Woodland Hills High School in with their shirts untucked on Thursday. School officials said about 85 students were sent home for refusing to comply with the new policy; the other students tucked in their shirts and remained in school.

The dress code says shirts have to be tucked in at the waistband of pants or skirts. Belt loops have to have a belt that's properly fastened, and pants have to be worn so the waistband is up at or above the waist and not below.

Principal Dan Stephens said the dress code was instituted as a safety measure to ensure students are not hiding anything under their shirts. School officials said it's a zero tolerance policy.

District officials said students were made aware of the new rule through assemblies and signs on the walls of the schools. The school has about 1,700 students.

On Friday, one parent told Channel 11 News she was very upset for having to bring her daughter clothes just to keep her in the classroom on Friday.

Terry Kohlholff's 10th-grade daughter was sent to the principal's office on Friday for wearing a shirt that was deemed inappropriate by the policy's standards.

"I don't feel that it's inappropriate," Terry Kohlholff said of her daughter's shirt.

Tucking the shirt in was an option, but it wasn’t something the girl wanted to do, her mother said.

"It was an option, but it wasn't something that she wanted to do. And I don't think that the school should have forced her to do that," said Kohlholff.

Kohlholff's daughter was one of 15 students Friday not dressed according to the code of conduct.

"It's a health and safety issue," said terry Wallace, the deputy superintendent. "I know, sometimes, people feel their creativity and expression is being stifled. We think health and safety is of paramount importance. We're going to continue to think that way."

Wallace said the issue isn't up for debate. He said the students had plenty of warnings and knew the consequences.

"If it continues to be a problem for anyone, we'll continue to send students home," he said.

District administrators said if parents have a problem with the new policy, they can take it to the magistrate's office.

District officials are also working to have students from kindergarten through 12-grade in uniforms next year.