At age 14, Haylee Burns of Tamaqua has developed a sense of appreciation for individuality.

She recognizes a richness of diversity among her friends. By the same token, she sees a few school rules and regulations that simply don't make sense in her eyes.For the past two or three years, the eighth-grade student at Tamaqua Area Middle School has questioned what she feels is a quirk in Tamaqua's school dress code."Why can't boys wear shorts," she asked, especially when the weather is warm."The dress code allows boys to wear skirts, but not shorts," said Haylee.She felt so strongly about dress code issues two years ago that she drew up a petition while in sixth grade.On Tuesday, she took her thoughts to the school board, where she stood in front of the group and asked the board to rethink the specifics."Females can wear pants and skirts but males can't wear shorts," she said.In response to a question from President Larry Wittig, Haylee said she's spoken to friends and classmates, both male and female, and many agree with her.Haylee was accompanied by her mother, Tina Burns, a 1983 Tamaqua Area High School graduate who supports the idea of a dress code.Burns said a dress code makes sense on several levels and can save money for parents.But she agrees with her daughter in feeling that some of the finer points of Tamaqua's dress code could be revisited, including the manner in which it addresses socks and shoelaces, for example.Wittig said suggestions are always welcome and Haylee's thoughts would be discussed during an annual review of the policy."We don't change policies midstream," Wittig explained. "It's not that we're not listening. We'll definitely take it into consideration."Haylee also questioned the policy about clear bookbags. She felt some students were being told they couldn't use their bookbags after spending up to $60 on the item.Assistant Superintendent Raymond J. Kinder said a letter was sent to parents to clarify the issue because some families were confused as to what constitutes a clear bookbag.In some cases, students were decorating their bookbags or applying stickers that no longer made the bookbags clear.On behalf of the board, Wittig thanked Haylee for her suggestions and for the manner in which she presented herself and her ideas.