FORNEY, Texas — In a few weeks, Brooklynn Hollaman will dig through her closet, looking for clothes to wear on her first day of 10th grade. But this fall, the Forney High School sophomore will have to limit what she can and can't put on.
Forney Independent School District announced updates to the dress code for the 2022 to 2023 school year. The district has a 7-page document detailing the entire dress code, but there are two significant changes.
Students can no longer wear clothing with hoods inside, including hoodies, jackets and coats. Dresses, skirts and skorts can no longer be worn by 5th graders or older. Preschoolers through 4th graders can still wear the latter.
In a statement, Forney ISD writes, "The use of a school dress code is established to improve student self-esteem, bridge socio-economic differences among students, and promote positive behavior, thereby enhancing school safety and improving the learning environment."
Students like Hollaman aren't okay with the changes.
"I think people should be able to wear them as long as they're appropriate," she said.
Hollaman wants hoodies to be able to be worn, as long as the hood is down and the logos are appropriate. She said dresses, skirts and skorts should be allowed as long as the length is appropriate too.
She believes this is more of a disciplinary problem for the students who aren't following the rules, and doesn't believe the rest of her classmates should be punished with a new dress code.
This week, she started a petition. Within two days, she gathered more than 2,300 signatures against the new dress code, and the number of supporters is growing.
Her parents, Amy and Derick Hollaman support their daughter.
Derick Hollaman said he spoke to the district on Tuesday to find out why the dress code is changing.
He said, "I was told that basically hoodies were a safety issue, that kids wouldn't take the hoods off their head. [...] When I asked regarding the dresses, I was told that they were trying to teach professionalism."
The Hollaman family disagrees with the reasoning they were given.
"I don't think this extra dress code is going to help the situation at all," said Amy Hollaman.
Brooklyn plans to present the petition to the school board on Monday, hoping they will revert the dress code back to what it was the previous school year.
The Forney ISD superintendent was not available for an interview by the time of this publication.