A legislative bill that takes aim at sagging clothes was passed by members of the Florida House of Representatives' K-20 Education Innovation Subcommittee yesterday (March 15th).
The bill was introduced by Rep. Hazelle Rogers (D-Lauderhill, Florida) and passed unanimously by the subcommittee, reports The St. Petersburg Times. "This pro-family, pro-education, pro-jobs bill provides each school district ... adopt a student dress code of conduct, a policy that explains to each student their responsibility," Rep. Rogers said. "This would make for a better school district and more productive students."
The bill doesn't mention sagging pants, but its clear by the verbiage, which prohibits students from wearing clothing that "exposes the underwear or body parts in an indecent or vulgar manner." Although no one has positively identified where the trend of sagging pants started, the new legislation claims that the practice of sagging pants originated in the prison system, "where belts are not issued because they may be used to commit suicide or used as weapons."
Students face a variety of disciplinary actions if their style of dress is deemed "vulgar" to school officials. They can be issued verbal warnings, banishment from extracurricular activities and even in-school suspensions. The local branch of the NAACP in Florida has condemned the bill, claiming that black youth will be targeted.
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