Students in the Palmerton Area School District will have a revised set of dress code guidelines to adhere to when they return to the classroom.

By a unanimous vote, the school board, at a special meeting on Tuesday, accepted the second reading, as amended, and approved policy #221, Dress and Grooming.The following establishes the guidelines of the revamped policy, which will go into effect at the start of the 2012-13 school year:- No hats, caps, hoods, bandannas, do-rags, headbands, sunglasses or gloves are to be worn once you enter the building. Such items are to be placed in lockers until the end of the day. Outerwear may only be worn in the building with principal permission.- No clothing, including accessories and tattoos, shall display lewd, vulgar, obscene or plainly-offensive language or symbols, promote or picture alcoholic beverages, tobacco, illegal drugs or illegal or violent behavior including gang symbols.- Clothing worn making underwear or bare skin visible between the upper chest and mid thigh is prohibited. Showing cleavage is not appropriate (cleavage is defined as "The separation between a woman's breasts." per the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.) Tops must have one-inch straps.- No footwear with greater than a three-inch heel. No flip flops, thongs, sliders, bedroom slippers, or roller shoes. Footwear meant to be tied must have laces tied.- No exposed body-piercing jewelry other than in ears. Gauges must be capped. No chains other than those designated as a bracelet or necklace, none of the following: wallet chains, dog collars, or spike bracelets/necklaces. Any jewelry that could be deemed as unsafe or used as a weapon is prohibited.Prior to the approval of the guidelines, board President Barry Scherer said "I think it behooves the board to come up with a final dress code for the new year."Scherer then deferred to Director Sherry Haas, who said she went online and culled together various dress code policies from numerous school districts as a template for the board to work with.Director Susan Debski said it was of paramount importance that the policy promote "the safety, health and welfare" of the students."I just don't want to write a policy that isn't followed by the faculty or administrators," Debski said. "That's a waste of my time, and a waste of our time."Mary Brumbach, principal of S.S. Palmer Elementary, as well as the Parkside Education Center, made several observations."Is our priority how our kids look, or is our priority what we put in the kids' heads," Brumbach asked. "I don't think we can have a blanket statement, but I also don't think we can put our hands up in the air and say we've tried everything."Brumbach added the fact that deliberation over the dress code has spanned the course of about two years "doesn't speak well to our district.""You can spend your entire day on dress; that's not what we're here for," she said. "You have to get [back] to educating the kids."Director Josann Harry concurred with Brumbach's sentiment, and added "I don't know any other district that has spent this much time on a dress code."Resident Mary Jo King, one of just two audience members in attendance, shared her thoughts on the matter."I think you need to look at how many [students] exactly are [violating the policy]; is it half, more than half, and how much attention are we giving the kids for it," King said. "To me, it's discipline versus a safety issue; I'm just trying to put it into perspective."Asked for his thoughts on the guidelines contained within the policy, high school instructor Robert Falkenstein said "It sounds like your work tonight is an improvement."After the board voted on the matter, Superintendent Carol Boyce said the revised policy will be shared with administration, and then posted on the district's website,

www.palmerton.org.