Uniform Policy Change Recommendation Fails at Terrebonne School Board Meeting

There were two main discussions on the agenda at last night’s Terrebonne Parish School Board meeting: the selection process of the new Superintendent and a recommendation on the replacement of Policy File: H-3,4 Mandatory School Uniforms.

There was some initial confusion on the new Superintendent process. Recommendation no. 1 on the agenda stated “that the Board begin the selection process for the New Superintendent of Schools pursuant to Policy FILE: C-3.1 and C-3.3, to be advertised in the newspapers of the ten (10) Louisiana metropolitan areas for a period of seven (7) days in December and seven (7) days in January, on the Terrebonne ParishnSchool Board website, with the Louisiana School Boards Association, and any other newspaper, journal, or other method of advertising approved by the Board president, or a majority of the School Board Members. Applications shall be addressed to the President of the Terrebonne Parish School Board, c/o Executive Assistant to the Board, and accepted for forty-seven (47) days beginning Monday, December 13, 2021, through Friday, January 28, 2022. Further, the application packets received shall remain sealed until opened at the February 1, 2022, School Board meeting.” Despite the original motion, the board agreed that the application packets will need to be opened before the February 1 board meeting simply because the screening committee will need to “weed out” those who do not qualify from those who meet the requirements for the position. A substitution motion was agreed upon which read, ” that the Board begin the advertising process for the superintendent of schools pursuant to Policy FILE: C-3.1 and C-3.3, approve as presented, the search process for superintendent inclusive of superintendent application form and interview timeline. Screening committee and timeline for superintendent appointment and further designate Dr. Debra Yarbrough, supervisor personnel, to oversee the process.”

There was some confusion among the public about the process and job of the screening committee. Many constituents at the meeting pleaded for transparency of the selection process and the candidates for the next Superintendent. This led to the board explaining that the process has been transparent and this motion is only for advertising and the screening process of those applying leading up to the actual candidates for the position. The screening committee, which is led by Dr. Debra Yarbrough, will have a checklist of the requirements for the new Superintendent because as Dr. Yarbrough said they need to determine that the candidates for the position meet all of the requirements. 

The board also discussed that there will be public forums where the public can meet the possible candidates. These forums are not for constituents to ask questions directly to the candidates, Dr. Yarbrough explained, and that the forums are for the School Board members to discuss what their expectations are for the next superintendent. She noted that the public is more than welcome to be a part of the open interview process for the candidates so they can understand who the candidates are and what they stand for. 

The next recommendation on the agenda was about the current uniform policy. The recommendation on the agenda read,” The Committee recommends, with the exception of Mrs. Benoit who objected, that the Board approve Forethought Consulting to draft a replacement policy for Policy FILE: H-3.4 Mandatory School Uniforms with a District Student Dress Code policy, in accordance with LA Department of Education/BESE, whereas students will be required to maintain a standard of grooming and attire that is appropriate and acceptable in a public school setting; and, report back to the next Education, Technology, and Policy Committee meeting.”

Public comments were immediately opened and Mr. Richard Bourgeois was the first to approach the microphone. Bourgeois is the proprietor of Jake’s Uniform and he began by asking a question regarding Forethought Consulting and asked who they were. Committee Chairwoman Debi Benoit answered that Forethought is a state program that provides recommendations for policies to be incorporated into the district’s programs. Bourgeois commented, “So, no one in the area of expertise, it’s just another board.” Benoit then commented that Forethought is a standard state policy that is passed down to schools and school boards. The process would be for the board to write a policy, send it to Forethought to put “in the book,” and then would send the district recommendations on the submitted policies. To clear things up, they do not write the actual policy nor do they vote on anything.

Next to address the council was a parent, Ms. Newman, who began by thanking the board for showing compassion for letting students who don’t have proper uniforms due to Hurricane Ida wear regular clothes. She proceeded with her view of upholding the policy that is already in place, “uphold the standard, please,” she pleaded. She said she thinks it is better in the long run for the children to not switch policies right now. She ended by saying it’s in the best interest of the children.

On the other hand of the spectrum, Ms. Roose, a parent of two children in the school system, pleaded for the policy to change. She argued that the uniforms do not show the professionalism that others claim they do and it also does not prevent bullying like the policy was created for. She shared her personal story of when she was in school when the uniform policy was implemented. She said that the bullying went from her clothes to her physical attributes and she wished more than anything that they would have just picked on her about her clothing. “Instead of trying to get the children conforming to clothing to stop the bullying, why not address the bullies?” she stated. She also suggested that staff and teachers wear uniforms such as shirts with the school’s logo on them. She concluded by stating that uniforms still cause a separation between social-economic classes and do not get rid of branding because students still strive to get Hollister, American Eagle, Nikes, etc.

The last member of the public to comment on the recommendation was Marco Garcia, Terrebonne High School Student Council President. Garcia, who is a senior, commented on parents’ concerns of the type of clothes students would wear if they were to allow regular clothes, “I just want any opinions that are already held about that type of behavior to know that it’s changed a lot recently, especially since a lot of kids are allowed to wear whatever they want because of Hurricane Ida…as a student, I don’t see them wearing anything offensive. I don’t see anything provocative.” He said when it comes to a standard, and it’s not just one day out of the month, that things tend to become more relaxed. He used a normal dress-down day for himself as an example that would include him wearing his best clothes and going “all out.” He ended by saying, “When you give students the option to wear what they want for an extended period of time, I believe it’ll be more relaxed than any parents or any school board members would believe it to be.”

School Board member Matthew Ford said he brought the recommendation to the board because it was a request by his constituents. He said the motivation for doing this is not because parents would have to go out and purchase clothes because the students will be able to wear whatever they want, “in fact, it’s just the opposite,” he said, “this is to stop the parents from having to go buy uniforms when they lost everything from the storm.” 

Ford said, “If we, as a board, decide to change the policy, which my original recommendation was to eliminate the uniform policy in lieu of a student dress code. This means that they will still be responsible to dress appropriately.” He said the current uniform policy has several things that go unnoticed and there were several times where students are breaking the uniform policy each day where they are wearing skirts that are too short, etc. “This is just the opportunity for us to get those teachers, parents, and students, to maybe relax, and just focus on the learning.” 

Benoit then put the motion up to a vote where only two members voted yes to change the policy, board members Ford and Dehart. The motion failed. Click here to read the meeting agenda.