Volusia County, FL-Volusia County Schools wants to know if school uniforms are a good idea or not. Starting today, VCS will unveil a 5-question survey asking for input from teachers, principals, parents and students on having schools require uniforms for students by next school year. That survey will be at the VCS website until midnight on September 30th and will also be available to parents during open houses, either through a paper copy or via a QR code for smartphones. Flyers will also be sent home with elementary school students.
Every Volusia County School Board member has publicly expressed support during meetings for school uniforms for a variety of reasons – mainly having to do with campus safety and a belief that it would reduce bullying and improve student grades and test scores – but all 5 of them also wanted to get public input before making any decisions. Some VCSB members also argued that uniforms would reduce the number of current dress code violations in the long run, especially at the middle schools. The survey results will be shared with the VCSB at a meeting sometime before the end of the year, with the discussion taking place soon afterward. 2 ordinance readings will be needed before any policy change is made, according to VCS spokeswoman Nancy Wait. If a policy change is made, it will likely be announced by Spring Break 2016 so that there’s enough time for everyone to prepare for it, per Wait.
The School Board also dealt with this topic in 2011, with a similar survey done that year showed 67% of parents in favor of a uniform policy. That version of the VCSB ended up passing the current dress code policy. VCS staff – including Superintendent Tom Russell – urged the board to do the surveys again before making a final decision and also talked about doing a pilot program at select schools before making it apply throughout the district. VCS has never had a district-wide school uniform policy, but some schools did require its students to wear uniforms in the past. Only 4 school districts in Florida currently have strict uniform policies, with 1 of those being Flagler County, where the topic has been a constant hot button at School Board meetings. The FCSB changed its policy in May to allow high school students to wear striped and plaid shirts to class as well as polo shirts in school-specific colors. Wait says VCS staff will be looking at those specific school district policies and the aftermath before crafting one for the district.
A link to the VCPS website is here.
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