|
Question: My son who attends a
special and regular education classes at a public school where he is
required to wear a school "uniform"? My son is very overweight and
short due to growth hormone deficiency that requires his clothes to be
specially tailored for him. He is also developmentally delayed, and he
is legally blind. My question is – can a school force a student to
wear a uniform?
Answer:
When parents challenge uniform policies they generally do
not do so claiming a financial burden, but by claiming a violation of
a constitutional right (speech, religion, expression, due process,
etc.) While the laws of any particular state may provide more
protection than the US Constitution, most federal and state courts
have held that a public school district's mandatory school uniform
policy is rationally related to the state’s legitimate interest in
fostering the education of its children. The courts have agreed that
uniforms improve student safety, decrease socio-economic tensions,
increase attendance, and reduce dropout rates. Therefore, they do not
violate most constitutional rights.
However, as some rights could be violated (an example would be forcing
a Muslim women to remove her head covering or a Jewish boy to remove
his head covering) the courts have also held that a district needs to
consider an individual student’s situation via a policy that allows a
parent to make a case why their child should be allowed to “opt out”
of the requirement. As IDEA can generally trump quit a few laws and
regulations, I would also expect that IF a student’s IEP noted that a
needed accommodation was to exempt the student from the uniform
policy, most school administrators would also accept that IEP Team
decision as justification to allow the student to “opt out”.
While cost could also be the basis to “opt out”, I would suspect that
since it is a parent’s legal obligation to clothe their minor children
for school, unless a parent can show a gross discrepancy between the
normal costs of their child’s clothing and a school uniform they would
have a hard time justifying an exemption based on financial
considerations. While the “free” part of a FAPE does relate to some
school expenses, in my experience it does not excuse the parent from
paying for their child’s every day living expenses, such as clothing,
food, shelter, or health care.
To appropriately address this type of issue, a parent needs to obtain
a copy of the school’s written policy, and assuming it has an appeal
or “opt out” process, use that process to obtain a final decision. It
may also make sense to convene an IEP Team meeting, as they also are
the appropriate group to address any school policy that adversely
affect an IDEA eligible child’s education. Finally, a parent may also
wish to contact your state Protection and Advocacy Services
organization, as they may have more information as to the application
of this policy to disabled students in your state.
John F. Brower, JD
Education Law Center, PLLC
www.edlawcenter.com
Education Law Center, PLLC · 810-227-9850
·
www.michedlawcenter.com
Copyrighted Material - All Rights
Reserved - May Not Be Reproduced Without Written Permission |
