CECCE introducing gender-neutral, inclusive dress code for students beginning January of 2023
Posted Nov 25, 2022 08:00:00 PM.
The Conseil des Ecoles Catholiques du Centre-Est(CECCE) is presenting a new gender-neutral, inclusive dress code for students that will come into effect starting Jan. 9, 2023 in all of the board's 59 schools.
“This new dress code reflects the importance the CECCE places on ensuring that every student is welcomed, respected and fulfilled within its school community,” the board said in a release. “The school board has in fact placed well-being, equity and inclusion as a priority in its new 2021-2026 strategic plan.”
The new dress code is the result of a long review process and numerous consultations that began in the fall of 2021 and involved the following groups:
- CECCE student summit
- Student network
- Groups of students in CECCE
- Team of social workers
- Principals and vice-principals
- Board of trustees
- Unions
- School councils
- School staff
- Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity
- Parent Involvement Committee
“The consultations provided opportunities for the board to listen to different viewpoints and take into consideration current social matters and the core values and wishes of students, their families and staff,” the board said. “In the coming weeks, presentations prepared by the CECCE team of social workers will be given to staff members and students to allow them to become familiar with the new code.
View the complete dress code at ecolecatholique.ca/codevestimentaire.
Staff and teachers, mostly male, at École Secondaire Catholique Béatrice-Desloges conducted a one day dress code blitz earlier this tear where students were told to bend over and touch their toes while staff members measured the length from their knees to the hem of their shorts.
Approximately 50-60 students were sent to the office, most of them female. Some students said they felt humiliated by what happened.
On Friday, May 13, students walked out in protest because of what happened one day earlier and in a Twitter thread, Ottawa police said they were called to the school around 11:30 a.m. after receiving information that students were outside the premises protesting.
The director of education for the French Catholic school board, Marc Bertrand, sent a letter to families of the Orléans high school on May 14, saying a one day dress code blitz initiated by staff and teachers was unacceptable.
* Uniforms will remain for schools that require them. On days when uniforms are not required, the dress code will be in effect.
