Yesterday, a 5-year-old kindergarten student in Oklahoma was forced to turn his University of Michigan t-shirt inside out.  The school does not allow any collegiate or professional athletic wear, except for Oklahoma colleges and universities.

The reason?  Gang colors.

The school district policy was written in 2005.  Administrators are taking another look at the policy.

Cbssports.com reports:

"This has presented an opportunity to review the current OKCPS District Dress Code Policy that has been in place since 2005," said OKCPS superintendent Karl Springer in a statement. "It states that clothing bearing names or emblems of all professional and collegiate athletic teams (with the exception of Oklahoma colleges and universities) are prohibited. In cooperation with the Oklahoma City Police Department Gang Task Force, the policy was approved in 2005 after concerns that nationwide gangs used popular sports clothing to represent individual gangs. As when any policy is questioned; OKCPS administration will review the policy to determine if changes need to be made."

No tolerance policies exist to protect kids.  Unfortunately, poorly written and poorly thought out no tolerance policies have no tolerance for common sense.

It's hard, and maybe impossible, to make an exception to a policy like this while it is in place.  But realizing that the policy is either wrong or overreaching is a good step.  We'll have to wait and see what the school district does as they take another look at the policy, but it seems an adjustment is in order.

 

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