Dress or grooming codes in schools; school boards may include in its code of student conduct, etc.
Summary
Board of Education; school boards; dress or grooming codes.Requires the Board of Education to include in its guidelines and model policiesfor codes of student conduct (i) standards for reducing bias and harassment inthe enforcement of any code of student conduct and (ii) standards for dress orgrooming codes, which the bill defines as any practice, policy, or portion of acode of student conduct adopted by a school board that governs or restricts theattire of any enrolled student. The bill permits any school board to include inits code of student conduct a dress or grooming code. The bill prohibits anyschool board that does not include in its code of student a dress or groomingcode from subjecting a student to discipline for reasons typically assigned toa dress or grooming code. The bill requires any dress or grooming code includedin a school board's code of student conduct or otherwise adopted by a schoolboard to (a) permit any student to wear any religiously, ethnically, orculturally specific or significant head covering or hairstyle, includinghijabs, yarmulkes, headwraps, braids, locs, and cornrows; (b) maintain genderneutrality by subjecting any student to the same set of rules and standardsregardless of gender; (c) not have a disparate impact on students of aparticular gender; (d) be clear, specific, and objective and avoid anysubjective term or standard such as "distracting,""provocative," or "inappropriate"; (e) prohibit any schoolboard employee from enforcing the dress or grooming code by direct physicalcontact with a student or a student's attire; and (f) prohibit any school boardemployee from requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual,including the enforcing school board employee, to comply with the dress orgrooming code.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2020
Committee Review
Feb 2020
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2020
Senate Passage
Mar 2020
Signed into Law
Apr 2020
Introduced Jan 7, 2020
Signed Apr 6, 2020
Floor votes
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate. No roll call record of that vote is available.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
30
Key actions
9
Committee
9
Apr 6, 2020
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 678 (effective 7/1/20)
executive
Mar 3, 2020
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (24-Y 15-N)
upper
Mar 2, 2020
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Feb 27, 2020
Upper · Passed
Reported from Education and Health (8-Y 4-N 3-A)
upper
Feb 18, 2020
Committee
Assigned Education sub: Public Education
upper
Feb 10, 2020
Committee
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
upper
Feb 7, 2020
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (81-Y 17-N)
lower
Feb 6, 2020
Lower · Passed
Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB837H1
lower
Feb 6, 2020
Lower · Passed
Committee substitute agreed to 20107220D-H1
lower
Feb 3, 2020
Lower · Passed
Reported from Education with substitute (20-Y 2-N)
lower
Jan 27, 2020
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (4-Y 3-N)
lower
Jan 15, 2020
Committee
Assigned Education sub: Pre-K-12
lower
Jan 7, 2020
Committee
Referred to Committee on Education
lower
Jan 7, 2020
Introduced
Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20104462D
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Jennifer Carroll Foy
DDemocratic
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