Skirt Length Warning At Elmhurst's IC Catholic Prep

ELMHURST, IL – Dress code enforcement at IC Catholic Prep in Elmhurst was weakened during the pandemic, by the school's own admission. But the school says it is now cracking down on violations.

Earlier this fall, David Rivera, the school's new dean of students, spoke with girls and boys separately to talk about the school's new effort to enforce the uniform dress code.

During the pandemic, he said, the school focused on keeping students healthy, rather than on dress code issues.

Patch obtained audio of Rivera's meeting with girls in the junior class.

He apparently showed two images of girls wearing uniform skirts, one in compliance and the other not. Pointing to one of them, he said that "anyone with any common sense" would know it's a violation.

Students line up outside IC Catholic Prep in Elmhurst on the first day of school in fall 2020. (David Giuliani/Patch)

"We're using the top of the knee as a standard," he said.

Rivera said the school would not deploy rulers or tape measures to enforce the rule. Teachers, he said, would be the "front-line inspectors."

"Your teachers are going to inspect you as you come into the room," Rivera said. "If the teacher feels it's not in the acceptable range, they're going to ask you to correct yourself. And then you correct yourself. If you refuse to correct yourself, you'll be sent to (the dean's office). And your parents will be called."

One student said girls would lose valuable classroom time if they were frequently sent to the dean's office for dress code violations.

Rivera countered that students were aware of the rules in the handbook.

"If you are making a decision to wear your skirt improperly, the loss of class time is on you," he said. "It's not on me or the school."

A couple of girls said they would follow the rule by pulling their skirts down.

Footwear was another issue. Students are supposed to wear dress shoes – brown, tan or black. White is prohibited.

These regulations must be followed right away, Rivera said. If students don't have the proper shoes, he said, their parents must call the school and tell administrators about plans to get into compliance.

"I know a lot of you have invested in white shoes," he said.

A number of girls protested the new enforcement. One said, "We all bought school shoes that we have been wearing for the first two years. We were all going to school with everything we needed. Now, two months in, you say this is the handbook, this is how we're doing it."

Rivera said the problem was that students have not read the handbook.

"We are unapologetically enforcing our school dress code. We're not apologizing for that. That's why you come to ICCP," he said.

After hearing disagreement, Rivera corrected himself to say the dress code was part of the Catholic school environment that draws students.

He continued by saying that the students themselves signed the handbook.

Many girls objected to that statement, with one saying they were forced to sign it and another saying they had no choice.

Rivera said the students had a choice.

"You don't have to go to this school. You came here, and you're accepting our rules," he said. "If you want a school that allows you to wear whatever you want, there are public schools for that."

As the girls were leaving for class, one could be heard saying, "This is ridiculous."

In an interview, Principal Stephen Davidson said many Catholic schools were having difficulties with dress code issues since the pandemic.

"We have to make some adjustments," he said. "Schools were focusing on other things during the pandemic."