French Catholic Education Commission Issues New Universal Dress Code

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Six months after Orléans High School students protested the administration’s dress code “blitz,” the French Catholic Education Commission for the Ottawa area announced a new universal dress code for 59 schools, effective January 9, 2023. issued.

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The Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) unveiled the new code online on Friday, which it said was “gender-neutral and inclusive”.

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CECCE also said the updated dress code is the result of a review process that began in the fall of 2021, well before students protested at Beatrice Desloges High School in May.

Hundreds of students protested outside the school and singled out some girls.

The board’s superintendent apologized the next day for the dress test.

Further controversy erupted after Ottawa police arrived at the protest site. Police arrested one male youth, who they said was not a student of Beatrice Desloges, for trespassing, but he was later released from custody without being charged.

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Education director Marc Beltran said police were in the area for security reasons at the time, noting that some of the protesting students were scattered across a traffic-filled adjacent street.

Groups consulted during the dress code review included, among others, students, teams of social workers, school principals and vice-principals, board members, staff unions, parents’ councils, and Ottawa, according to Friday’s announcement. It included the Canadian Center for Gender and Sexuality, based in Diversity.

A team of social workers will provide presentations to school staff and students over the next few weeks to familiarize them with the new dress code.

“The Code is an opportunity for students to express themselves through clothing while developing critical thinking and judgment,” said CECCE President Johanne Lacombe in a statement. We are also committed to ensuring that our facilities continue to be inclusive facilities where everyone can feel comfortable.”

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The dress code stipulations are as follows:

• Students are required to wear clothing that “does not incite drugs, alcohol, illegal activity, hatred, racism or discrimination, profanity, pornography, violence or harassment, or threatens health and safety.”

• Clothing must be opaque and cover undergarments and genital areas.

• Stylish head accessories (hats, caps, etc.) should be acceptable outside of the classroom, but students should remove their hats, hats, and hoods inside the classroom and during national anthems, prayers, and religious celebrations. it won’t work. Hair accessories and religious modesty are acceptable. The face (eyes) should always be visible.

• If a student has a medical condition, they may wear sunglasses at school.

The full dress code is posted on the CECCE website.

Schools that require uniforms will continue to require uniforms, the board added. The CECCE dress code applies on days when uniforms are not required.