Should Yoga Pants and Leggings Be Banned in Schools?

By LIZ TAURASI (Patch Staff)

Dress codes exist at schools throughout the Commonwealth, and at Andover High School it’s no different.

However, as has been the case in many years, schools in various cities and towns throughout the state are banning the wearing of yoga pants and leggings, both of which are a staple in many young women’s wardrobes.

As the first day of school begins at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich, students will not be allowed to wear uncovered yoga pants or leggings, the Cape Cod Times reported Monday.

The decision, school Principal William Terranova told the Times, is in addition to the school’s dress code policy and that these items can be worn if they are covered by shorts or a skirt. He goes on to say the ban on both yoga pants and leggings is to help prepare students at the school for the realities of the work world come graduation.

Over the past couple of years the issue of yoga pants and leggings in schools has become a hot topic with schools across the country making the call that they are simply not appropriate for a learning environment.

In February 2014, Rockport, middle and high school banned them after teachers said they were too distracting to other students. After several students were forced to change or sent home for more appropriate clothing, the school re-examined its policy and and dropped the ban.

In 2013, a middle school in Petaluma, Calif., prohibited students from wearing them, again saying they were distracting with the school’s principal saying“the appropriate attire contributes to a positive learning environment.”

While leggings and yoga pants aren’t banned in Andover, the dress code is specific about what students are and are not allowed to wear to school,

Andover High School’s Dress Code:

In accordance with Massachusetts State Law there is an expectation that students dress in keeping with reasonable standards of safety, health and cleanliness, so as not to detract from, or disrupt, the educational process.

The administration reserves the right to ask students to change any attire that disrupts the educational process or environment, promotes illegal activities or violates health or safety and cleanliness standards. Footwear must be worn at all times.

Clothing which could create an actual disruption or disorder to the learning environment includes, but is not limited to: •

• Clothing or jewelry that displays slogans, insignias, or designs that advertise alcohol, drugs, or sexual material which promote products or activities that are illegal, profane or suggestive.
• Clothing or jewelry which is disparaging to others in the school environment and contain slurs regarding race, ethnicity, religion, disabilities or sexual orientation.
• Clothing that is too short or reveals midriffs or undergarments.
• It is the teacher’s discretion to set the standard of whether hats are permissible in their classroom and to outline that standard in their class contract. Students will be permitted to wear hats when passing between classes and while eating lunch in the cafeteria.

View Andover High School’s Dress Code on in the Student Code of Conduct section of the handbook, Page 49 >>>

What do you think? Should leggings and yoga pants be banned in our public schools? Do you agree with those who say they are distracting? Tell us in the comments section below.