New York City Council Members Call for a Citywide Gender-Inclusive Dress Code

On Thursday, January 23, members of the New York City Council called on NYC public schools to create and enforce a gender-inclusive dress code.

According to a press release shared by the Office of New York City Council Member Brad Lander, select council members, including Lander, partnered with the non-profit organization Girls for Gender Equity to introduce a resolution and a bill that would eliminate gender-biased dress codes. As the release notes, New York City's Department of Education requires its schools to use “gender-neutral” language in creating school dress codes. However, a study of 100 New York City public schools conducted by Girls for Gender Equity determined that gender policing still occurred.

For instance, Girls for Gender Equity found that 55 dress codes had banned crop tops, 28 codes had banned tube tops, and 27 codes banned “distracting” styles of dress as well as miniskirts. Under the resolution and bill introduced, Lander wants the Department of Education to “ensure that dress codes across all NYC schools are inclusive of gender presentation and do not discriminate against girls and gender non-conforming students.”

Per the release, Landers called on NYC Department of Education to create a department-wide inclusive school dress-code policy and a bill that would require NYC schools with current dress codes to provide details on their current rules and how they are enforced.

The introduction was backed by Council Member Adrienne Adams, who commented in the release, “We have seen school administrators across the country disproportionately police dress codes especially against girls and people of color. I am proud to join my colleagues in legislation that will help to ensure that all children will feel accepted in a school environment that includes a dress code that is equally enforced and free from racial bias and gender discrimination.”

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue