School Dress Code

SMS School Dress Code

Cheatham County School Board Policy 6.310

Students shall dress and groom in a clean, neat and modest manner so as not to distract or interfere with the operation of the school. Hats and other headwear shall not be worn inside school buildings during the school day unless (a) wearing the hat has been approved in advance by the school administration for a school event, (b) the hat or headwear is a customary part of the student’s religious observance or a religious event, or (c) the hat or headwear is recommended or prescribed by a medical doctor duly licensed in the State of Tennessee for a specific medical purpose.

More specific guidelines appropriate for each level of school (elementary, middle, junior high and senior high) shall be developed by the director of schools. Principals and appropriate faculty shall be involved in the development of each set of guidelines.

When a student is dressed in a manner which is likely to cause disruption or interference with the operation of the school, or in a manner that violates the developed guidelines, the principal shall take appropriate action, which may include suspension.

Sycamore Middle School:

STUDENT DRESS CODE 6.310 

Students shall observe modesty and appropriateness in clothing and personal appearance. A student is not appropriately dressed if he/ she is a disturbing or disruptive influence to the educational environment or presents a safety concern for others.  

Fashion is constantly changing and some fashion changes may not be appropriate for school. We reserve the right to make changes to the dress code as needed to keep disruption to the educational process to a minimum and maintain a safe school. The dress code rules are as follows:  

1. Hats, caps and sunglasses are not to be worn in the building (with the exception of school-sponsored spirt days).  
2. The length for skirts, dresses and shorts must be the length of a horizontal index card from the knee.  
3. All items worn with leggings - shirts or skirts - must be a length that falls at or below the mid-thigh area.  
4. Shirts, tops, and blouses with a bare midriff or revealing neckline are not allowed.  
5. No tube tops, see-through tops, mesh tops, or spaghetti-strap shirts allowed. Straps on shirts must be the width of a dollar bill. With a sheer outer shirt, the under shirt must meet dress code requirements.  
6. No attire depicting or promoting violence, alcohol, tobacco, or drugs is allowed. No gang related clothing. 
7. No clothes with suggestive, crude, rude, racial, or discriminatory statements are allowed. This also includes  wearing clothes displaying the rebel flag.  
8. Students should not wear outer clothing that resembles loungewear, pajamas or underwear. (There may be exceptions for special days i.e. spirit days).  
9. Shoes must be worn by all students. House shoes are not allowed.  
10. No heavy chains, spikes, or other items that cause a safety concern may be worn.  
11. Students will not draw on themselves or others. 
12. No sleeveless shirts with excessively large or revealing sleeve openings are allowed.  
13. Students may wear light jackets or sweaters at the discretion of the classroom teacher. Excessively long  hoodies or jackets and heavy coats must be kept in locker. This includes trench coats. 
14. Sagging pants are not allowed. 
15. Jeans must be neat and fit appropriately. No holes or frays are allowed above where allowable shorts would fall on the leg. knees unless leggings are worn underneath. 
16. Top coats, backpacks, and purses must be removed once the student enters the school building and be stored in his/her locker. Small canvas-type bags for gym clothes are allowed for PE only and should be stored in the student’s locker when not in transition to PE. 
17. No blankets are allowed at school or on the bus. 
18. When Masks are required per board of education, failure to wear one will result in dress code violation.  Students will be offered a mask, if they refuse this will result in a parent contact and possible discipline.  

All faculty and staff share the responsibility to enforce the dress code. 

Consequences for Violations of the Dress Code: 

If a violation can be corrected it will be done so immediately with a warning. If it cannot be corrected at school, a student will be allowed to call home for appropriate clothing to be brought to them. If this occurs, the student will wait in ISS until these arrive. If appropriate clothing cannot be brought, the student will stay in ISS. Persistent violations of dress code will result in discipline from administration.