Dress codes are something almost everybody must live with.
On my occasional visits to the mall and to stores elsewhere I see store employees following some sort of dress requirement, whether it is a common shirt or blouse, fashion items sold in the store, shirt and tie or a dress, a referee's shirt (in the case of a shoe store) or even just a simple name badge. Some of those store employees appear to be high school-aged students.
A few years ago the school district instituted a dress code for teachers, instructional aides, and other staff. When I first started with the district male teachers would wear ties and shirts with dress pants, but throughout the years things became so relaxed that some were actually wearing clothing appropriate for the beach! (Casual shirts, shorts and flip-flops, for example.)
I heard stories of young women teachers at other schools wearing clothing showing off tattoos on their lower backs. Who'd want to pay attention to the lesson when one could pay attention to a tattoo on the teacher's lower back? Whether these stories were true or not, I don't know, but the district eventually established rules concerning appropriate attire for faculty and staff.
Now students are having to adhere to a dress code established three years ago. (I think it was three years ago.) The superintendent made the student dress code a priority this school year, and this has created a lot of concern among students about following it and with teachers and administrators about enforcement.
Whether or not you agree with students having to follow a dress code (and I'll say I disagree with the student dress code), the matter of employer-established rules of appropriate attire in the workplace is something everybody needs accept -- and a school dress code is no different. To borrow from a large
poster I once saw in a kindergarten teacher's room, "School is the work of students."