Parent is concerned dress code policy is not being enforced fairly

WAUSA – The enforcement of Wausa Public Schools’ dress code policy has come under fire.

Carla Wilken, who has a daughter in the 11th grade at Wausa High School, addressed the school board Sept. 19 about the enforcement of the dress code.

She noted the subject has been on her and other Wausa parents’ minds.

“I know that most schools – if not all – have a dress code policy and I know some of ours is more lenient,” Wilken said.

She emphasized she does not have a problem with the school district having a dress code policy.

“What I do have a problem with is how our dress code is being enforced and regulated,” Wilken said. She noted a school is a place to learn.

“School is a place for our future leaders, where they should feel safe in their environment, safe from targeting, safe from bullying, safe from people being disrespectful to them – adults especially,” Wilken said.

She alleged some Wausa school sta members of “vindictive actions” against students that has left “many of these kids feeling ashamed, ridiculed by their teachers.”

“I know when we talk about bullying, we talk about kids bullying other kids,” Wilken said. “That’s not what I’m talking about.

"I'm talking about sta bullying stu - dents," she said. "That's an entirely dier -

ent situation.”

She claimed many young women attending Wausa during the first month of classes for the 2022-23 academic year “have been paraded around like cattle in front of their classmates, lined up for dress code check.”

Wilken continued, saying the young women then were “made to turn around so their instructors and everyone else can look at their bodies, to make sure that they are dressed satisfactorily.”

She alleged the enforcement of the dress code policy has been subjective.

“It has been subjective to the point where one student is wearing a specific type of clothing and they are dress-coded, and another student wearing the exact same outfit or very, very similar has not been dress-coded,” Wilken said.

She claimed the punishment for Wausa students who have been told their clothing violates the school district’s dress code policy has included being sent home to change, detention, in-school suspension and loss of playing or practice time.

"Specific teachers have gone so far to call out anatomy of our young women,” Wilken said. “I don’t understand why a teacher thinks it’s OK or appropriate to discuss a student’s areas, whether she thinks they look appropriate or not, without the consent and discussion of a parent.”

She noted if the school district’s dress code policy is going to be followed, every Wausa student needs to obey the rules.

“There are young men who come to school excessively dirty,” Wilken said. “They have chores in the morning. That’s not my issue. The real issue for me is specific sta pushing this dress code on only a few young women. So why is not everybody subject to it?”

She brought up what she has seen some female Wausa sta members wearing at school.

“It’s OK for teachers to wear skin-tight clothing, short dresses – and I’ve seen it – but unfair to students that do so,” Wilken said.

She argued the clothing female Wausa students wear at high school dances and athletic events does not follow the school district’s dress code policy.

“Prom, homecoming, volleyball – you’ve seen those shorts – track – these uniforms, dresses do not follow any dress code at all, and that seems to be OK,” Wilken said.

She wondered why this kind of clothing – especially the sports uniforms worn in front of crowds – did not violate the school district’s dress code policy, while “our students can’t show their shoulders in school.”

“I want to remind you that these young men and women are not here for an interview,” Wilken said. “This is not a job interview; this is school.

“And I guarantee you my student knows what to wear for a job interview,” she said. “She knows what to wear to work. She’s not getting paid to be here.”

She emphasized her daughter attends school to learn.

“So much of this time is being wasted daily on dress code checks,” Wilken said. “These are our future leaders. They’re in our community.

“They work at the grocery store,” she said. “They work at the cafe. They’ve brought your groceries out, maybe helped you in church or volunteered somewhere.”

She noted Wausa students know how to dress appropriately for school.

“They know what looks good,” Wilken said. “I am here standing up for my daughter and all these other kids in our school.

“These are future young men and women in this community,” she said. “Give them some credit.”

She encouraged school board members to talk to other parents and “stop the obsessive behavior daily going on, where a teacher walks into a classroom and says, ‘Stand up. It’s dress check time.’ “And then, as she’s leaving the room, says, ‘Off to hand out more dress codes,’” Wilken said.

She reiterated students attend school to learn and “not to be distracted by teachers who are more concerned about what they’re wearing than what they should be teaching them.”

Wausa Superintendent Brad Hoesing responded by saying he wanted to make sure he was understanding the criticism of the dress code policy enforcement correctly.

“A part of it might be the policy,” he said. “Maybe the bigger picture might be the implementation.”

Wilken agreed that it is the implementation of the school district’s dress code policy that she was complaining about.

“What I’m also hearing is, it may not be all our teachers,” Hoesing said.

“No, it is not all of your teachers,” Wilken said. “It is a few.”

Hoesing recommended to school board members to talk about the enforcement of Wausa’s dress code policy in a closed session.

“From what I’m hearing, it’s not so much policy as it’s personnel right now,” he said. “We cannot discuss personnel in open session by law.”

Wilken noted the school district’s dress code policy was not on the board’s Sept. 19 meeting agenda, but if it is on the October meeting agenda, she plans to attend that gathering.

“We’re not trying to hide anything from you, but part of our job is also to protect all entities involved,” Hoesing said.

Wilken noted she understands that, adding, “I don’t get fired up about little stuff, I don’t, but to me this has gone on way too far.”

School Board President Mike Kumm responded, saying, “Our first steps would be to talk to our staff and allow them to kind of investigate” and see what is going on with the dress code policy enforcement.

In a short follow-up interview, Hoesing noted the board decided to have Principal Shane Anderson work with staff members and teachers on the enforcement of the school district’s dress code policy.