Professional Attire
Expectations
July 16, 2009
The Name Game• Employee Dress Code• Professional Dress Code for
Adults• Employee Appearance
Standards• Professional Attire
Expectations
Specif
icity
&
Consis
tency
Open-Ended Survey
• Professional Attire• Shoes• Hair, Jewelry and Accessories• Body Piercings• Other Comments
Spring 2009
2,600 Responses
Data Analysis
Professional Attire
• Dress Length• Neat, Clean• No Jeans• No Tight, Form
Fitting• No Sweat Suits,
Pajama or Tank Tops
SHOES
Shoes• No Flip Flops• Appropriate Heel
Heights• Heel Straps• No Tennis Shoes• Business Casual,
Comfortable• No Crocs
Hair, Jewelry & Accessories
Hair, Jewelry, and Accessories
• Well Groomed and Clean Hair
• Tasteful Jewelry• Non-distracting• Follow Student
Code
Body Piercings & Tattoos
Body Piercings and Tattoos
• Tattoos covered (where possible)
• No facial piercings
• Limit ear piercings
• No tongue piercings
General Comments• Consistency is
important• Should be site
based• Be aware of
culture• Be aware of
economy
Interesting Observations (The Exceptions)
• Rigid code is not desired• Demeaning to have a dress code• Policy is not needed• Infringement on individual rights
Dress Code Committee
• June 8, 2009• 48 participants• Representative group• Work based on survey responses• Identified key concepts Staff
developed draft
Student Dress Code
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STAFF SURVEY Draft Policy
Draft Regulation Student Dress Code Survey Questions
Elementary
Mid
dle
HighC
entra
l
Professional Attire Expectations: The Henrico County Public Schools maintains that the image projected by adult employees is an important factor in the overall learning culture and climate of the school division. Adults should serve as models of student behavior and are expected to display a professional image worthy of the mission of HCPS. HCPS employees are expected to be mature, professional, capable, and competent and they should portray this in their appearance. The school division believes that adults should exercise good judgment in promoting modesty, decency, cleanliness, and a sense of decorum so as not to disrupt or negatively impact the learning environment.
It is expected that school building and central office administrators will enforce expectations established by the school board. Decisions on professional attire may be made at individual facilities taking into consideration the work circumstances and functions of assignments.
Draft Policy
RegulationHCPS employees are expected to be mature, professional, capable, and competent and they should portray this in their appearance. The following regulations are provided as guidance to staff in this regard and to school building and central administrators with respect to enforcement.
Professional Attire:• Expectations delineated in the Student Dress Code,
apply to employees. • Employee safety and medical conditions should be
considered regarding professional attire. • Administrators should be sensitive to religious
exemptions that may be needed. • Job assignment may be considered when making
decisions regarding professional attire. • Employees should be neat and clean in their
appearance. • Blue or denim jeans and rubber flip flops are not
allowed.
Professional Attire (cont):• Tennis/running type shoes should not be worn except
when necessary for a job assignment, for example, physical education teachers.
• Hair should be well-kept, clean, and not be a distraction.
• Facial, lip, and tongue jewelry are not allowed. • Offensive or distracting tattoos should be covered. • Any attire and grooming issues that detract from or
impede a safe and productive learning environment are prohibited.
• School building level leaders and central office administrators are responsible for ensuring that the Professional Attire Expectations are maintained.
Casual Work Days and Spirit Days• Some work sites designate a particular day of the week or
occasional special days as casual days such as Casual Fridays. In the interest of employee morale, such days may be designated; however, employees must use good judgment in determining what is appropriate to wear to work on these days.
• Acceptable casual attire includes slacks, khakis, sport shirts, skirts and dresses, turtlenecks, sweaters, loafers, tennis shoes, etc. Casual attire that is unacceptable includes T-shirts and sweatshirts (unless school affiliated), sweatpants or workout attire, cutoffs, short shorts, halter tops, tanktops,
jeans, very short skirts or dresses, rubber flip flops, etc.
Draft Policy and Regulation Survey• Emailed to all employees
• 2,049 responses received
• Five questions and comments
(133 pages)
Current PositionCurrent Position
Current Work LocationCurrent Work Location
Do you agree that the student dress code should apply to employees as is written?
Is the draft employee appearance standards policy
statement acceptable?
Is the draft employee appearance standards policy statement acceptable?
Is the draft employee appearance standards regulation acceptable?
Is the draft employee appearance standards regulation acceptable?
Is the Draft Employee Standards: Casual Work Days and Spirit Days acceptable?Is the Draft Employee Standards: Casual Work Days and Spirit Days acceptable?
Data Analysis on Comments
Common Themes in Comments
• Allow jeans on casual days (Fridays)• Allow tennis/running shoes
To a lesser degree:• Allow sunglasses for adults outside• Allow piercings/tattoos (infringement)• Dress codes should be site/school specific• Enforcement will be an issue• Offended by the draft code
Next Steps
• Discuss and make adjustments• Post revisions on website and
email/survey employees• Compile results and report to the
school board in August• Adjust policy/regulation and
adopt• Inform/educate employees