The school district made major adjustments to its dress code policy for the 2014-2015 school year. After multiple meetings and careful consideration of appropriate school-attire, the school board agreed to allow students to wear garments such as leggings and yoga pants, as well as nose studs and vibrant streaks of hair color.

“I am so glad that LISD has loosened up on the school dress code policy,” junior Marissa Hernandez said. “My parents finally agreed to let me get a nose stud because they are now allowed at FMHS.”

Students district-wide are excited to further express themselves by having the freedom to wear a wider variety of clothes. Although the dress code has been adjusted, some restrictions still apply. For example, girls are now permitted to wear leggings and yoga pants, but they must wear a long shirt that covers at least the mid-thigh.

“Yoga pants are so comfortable,” junior Kate Stafford said. “Even though I have to wear a large shirt over my pants, I’m so happy that I can wear them to school.”

Another policy modification is that students can dye 25 percent of their hair an unnatural color. As long as the color is not distracting to the learning environment, students may add dye streaks, color strips, or dip dyes to their hair.

“The new dress code is amazing,” junior Kelsie Baughman said. “I dip dyed the tips of my hair dark purple over the summer, and I am allowed to keep it during the school year.”

Although there have been a lot of changes, some sections of the dress code policy have remained the same as previous years. Students are still unable to wear Nike athletic shorts, facial piercings (excluding a single nose stud), and tattoos may not be visible during the day.

“I’m not satisfied with the dress code changes,” junior Erik Rauland said. “Although I think the new changes are fabulous, I want to be able to show off more tattoos and piercings.”

The district has loosened up on what is appropriate to wear at school, but the final decision is up to the AP and attendance office personnel at each individual school. So, if you’re not sure if you are in dress code or not, the staff of FMHS can decide if you are wearing appropriate school attire.

“Sometimes I feel that the staff of FMHS is too strict about the new dress code policies,” sophomore Haile Elliott said. “A few of my teachers are having trouble acknowledging the new changes.”

Out of 20 students interviewed, 14 of them are excited about the changes in the dress code, and their only complaint is that the policies are still too strict. Students interviewed hope that in the future, the district will continue to evaluate the students’ wishes and what they consider to be appropriate when revising the district’s policies.