MONTPELIER — Kim Joslin said she’s upset by the treatment her daughters have received from school officials and she believes the Bear Lake School District is very selective in enforcement of its dress code.
Her 13-year-old daughter, Taysha Joslin, an eighth-grader at Bear Lake Middle School, has been called to the office twice since classes started this year and was told that she was in violation of the school’s dress code.
On Monday, Taysha called Kim in tears and said she needed a change of clothes. The Western-style shirt Taysha was wearing had a lace panel across the back and shoulders. While the panel was well above her shoulder blades, school officials said her bra straps could be visible, which violated the school dress code.
“It was a very conservative shirt,” Kim said. “I told the school that her bra strap was not visible and (Principal Steve Heeders) said, ‘But it could have been.’”
The family lives about 30 minutes outside of Montpelier and Kim said Taysha sat in the office and waited for 45 minutes, and she was embarrassed by the entire incident.
“They are at an age where they are very self-conscious anyway,” Kim said. “She was just mortified.”
Following the incident, another mother in the Bear Lake district sent Kim a photo of her own daughter’s ensemble the same day that Taysha was asked to change. That mother's daughter had violated the dress code, but the girl was not reprimanded or asked to change.
“She was wearing a shirt that exposed her bra straps in the back and nothing was said about it,” Kim said.
Kim is the mother of eight and she said six of her children have gone to school in the Bear Lake district.
Taysha’s younger sister, T’Kota Joslin, is 11 and she also attends the middle school.
The 11-year-old curled her waist-length hair for school and a little girl seated behind her was playing with her curls in class. The teacher told T’Kota that she would have to tuck her hair inside her jacket while she was in class.
“I want to know why they didn’t tell the other girl to keep her hands to herself,” Kim said.
Superintendent Gary Brogan said all students in the district are aware of the dress code and Taysha violated it.
According to the school’s dress code, student attire impacts teaching and learning and can either promote a more effective educational environment, or disrupt the educational climate and process.
According to the dress code, skirts, dresses, or shorts, when worn alone or with nylons, must have hemlines no higher than 2 inches above the knee. Leggings or similar tight clothing may not be worn by themselves, and when worn, the buttocks must be completely covered, even when sitting.
Clothing that exposes a student’s midriff, shoulders, cleavage, including low cut necklines or excessive back are unacceptable. Cap sleeves are acceptable, but spaghetti straps, strapless tops and halter tops are not allowed.
Any clothing that is see-through and reveals underwear or skin where underwear is typically worn is unacceptable.
This includes holes in clothing above the knee cap that reveal skin, even if clothing is purchased with the holes.
Kim said her daughter dresses modestly, but the first time Taysha was asked to change her clothes she was wearing a thigh-length dress with a camisole under it. There was no cleavage exposed, she said.
“The teacher asked her if she liked showing her chest,” Kim said. “She wasn’t showing her chest. Taysha was embarrassed and upset.”
Shelley Allen said dress code violations in District 25 are usually handled in the school, but she said violations are uncommon.
“Maybe we're more liberal than Bear Lake,” Allen said.
In American Falls, Superintendent Ron Bolinger said the school provides generic T-shirts to students that are not in compliance with the dress code.
“The students all know what the dress code is and for the most part, they follow it,” Bolinger said.
North Gem School District Superintendent Curry Donaldson said violations of the school's dress code are uncommon. The policy is basically that attire cannot be disruptive.
If a North Gem student's clothing is inappropriate, school T-shirts are made available or the parents may be called.