Should Teachers Have a Dress Code?

Anna Marie Hanks of San Clemente moved about a year ago from Virginia and right away noticed a number of differences in her second-grader's school. Among other things, the teachers dress inappropriately.

"Some of our teachers dress like they are going to the club," she said at Wednesday night's superintendent’s forum. Hanks wanted to know if the Capistrano Unified School District had a dress code.

Superintendent Joseph Farley said the district did not, but if he were in charge -- which got a chuckle; he is the head honcho -- he'd institute one. He, for one, hates to see teachers in flip flops.

He asked if the other parents there agreed teachers could use a dress code. They did.

But it's a matter of law, Farley said. The teachers have their freedom of expression. 

Hanks pointed out that the students don't necessarily enjoy the same freedom.

"If our high schoolers have to have a dress code, I think the teachers have to lead by example," she said.

A USA Today report found in 2012 that several public school districts across the nation are implementing a dress code, everything from prohibiting jeans to covering up tattoos to banning spaghetti straps. 

Prompted by that report, the Sacramento Bee checked districts around the capital and discovered many had dress codes, though most were fairly vague, requiring professional attire.

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE WAY YOUR CHILDREN'S TEACHERS DRESS? TAKE OUR POLL AND COMMENT BELOW.