Uniform Policy

Dress and Grooming

San José Unified believes that students and their parents or guardians are primarily responsible for students’ attire and grooming. Appropriate attire and grooming contribute to a productive learning environment. We expect our students to give the appropriate attention to personal cleanliness and to wear clothes that are suitable for the school activities in which they participate.

School-directed changes to a student’s attire or grooming should be the least restrictive and disruptive to the student’s school day. Any school dress code enforcement actions should minimize the potential loss of educational time. The administration and enforcement of the dress code will be gender neutral and consistent.

Schools may not enact policies with more restrictive or less restrictive dress and grooming codes except in cases where schools require uniforms. Student attire and grooming must permit the student to participate in learning without posing a risk to the health or safety of any student or school district personnel.

a.Students must wear clothing including both a shirt with pants or skirt, or the equivalent (for example dresses, leggings, or shorts) and shoes.
b.Hats and other head coverings are not permitted on school grounds except when worn as sun-protective clothing as prescribed by the student’s physician or as an expression of religious beliefs.(See below.)
c.Clothing must cover the chest, torso, and lower extremities.
d.Clothing must cover undergarments.
e.Clothing must not be see-through.
f.Professional sports attire may not be worn except for special occasions determined by the principal.
g.Clothing must be suitable for all scheduled classroom activities, including physical education, science labs, shop classes, and other activities where unique hazards or specialized attire or safety gear is required.

Attire or grooming depicting or advocating violence, criminal activity, gang-related activity (including professional sports wear and/or colors identified by the Santa Clara County Sheriff or San José Police Department as gang-affiliated), use of alcohol or drugs, pornography, or hate speech are prohibited.

A change of clothing is required for physical education classes. Students will dress in shorts and tops, gym shoes, and/or sweats, as appropriate. Physical Education teachers may make judgments concerning the appropriateness of clothing to ensure student safety.District students will be allowed to wear sun-protective clothing and hats.Sun-protective hats may be worn for outdoor use only. Students will be required to wear a hat for sun-protection that has a brim large enough to protect the face and/or back of neck and/or ears.

A parent/guardian or doctor’s authorization will be required for a student to wear a sun-protective hat and that note shall include the type and extent of the coverage required.A student who violates these standards shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.Please refer to Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 5132, revised June 15, 2017