Dress Code Equity Act; guidelines and policies for dress or grooming codes in schools. (HB837)

Introduced By

Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-Woodbridge)

Progress

✓	Introduced
✓	Passed Committee
✓	Passed House
☐	Passed Senate
☐	Signed by Governor
☐	Became Law

Description

Board of Education; school boards; dress or grooming codes. Requires the Board of Education to include in its guidelines and model policies for codes of student conduct (i) standards for reducing bias and harassment in the enforcement of any code of student conduct and (ii) standards for dress or grooming codes, which the bill defines as any practice, policy, or portion of a code of student conduct adopted by a school board that governs or restricts the attire of any enrolled student. The bill permits any school board to include in its code of student conduct a dress or grooming code. The bill requires any dress or grooming code included in a school board's code of student conduct or otherwise adopted by a school board to (a) permit any student to wear any religiously and ethnically specific or significant head covering or hairstyle, including hijabs, yarmulkes, headwraps, braids, locs, and cornrows; (b) maintain gender neutrality by subjecting any student to the same set of rules and standards regardless of gender; (c) not have a disparate impact on students of a particular gender; (d) be clear, specific, and objective in defining terms, if used; (e) prohibit any school board employee from enforcing the dress or grooming code by direct physical contact with a student or a student's attire; and (f) prohibit any school board employee from requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual, including the enforcing school board employee, to comply with the dress or grooming code. Read the Bill »

Status

02/27/2020: passed committee

History

Date	Action
01/07/2020	Committee
01/07/2020	Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20104462D
01/07/2020	Referred to Committee on Education
01/15/2020	Assigned Education sub: Pre-K-12
01/17/2020	Impact statement from DPB (HB837)
01/27/2020	Subcommittee recommends reporting (4-Y 3-N)
02/03/2020	Reported from Education with substitute (20-Y 2-N) (see vote tally)
02/03/2020	Committee substitute printed 20107220D-H1
02/05/2020	Impact statement from DPB (HB837H1)
02/05/2020	Read first time
02/06/2020	Read second time
02/06/2020	Committee substitute agreed to 20107220D-H1
02/06/2020	Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB837H1
02/07/2020	Read third time and passed House (81-Y 17-N)
02/07/2020	VOTE: Passage (81-Y 17-N) (see vote tally)
02/10/2020	Constitutional reading dispensed
02/10/2020	Referred to Committee on Education and Health
02/18/2020	Assigned Education sub: Public Education
02/27/2020	Reported from Education and Health (8-Y 4-N 3-A)