professional attire expectations · professional attire expectations: the henrico county public...

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