Every morning when the students arrive at Tottenville High School, they are inspected from head to toe by 15 staffers, who check to make sure they are complying with the new, stricter dress code.
The new policy prohibits hats, headbands, bandanas, hoods and hoodies, sunglasses, do-rags, combs, hair picks, tank tops, low-cut blouses, tube or halter tops, midriff tops, short-shorts, mini-skirts, clothing or accessories with metal spikes, wallets with chains, visible undergarments, clothing with inappropriate or offensive images or wording, earplugs or headphones.
Those who don't comply with the new dress code are sent to the dean's office where they will receive a "dress code infraction" pass and a two-hour detention on their first offense. The school then will call the child's parents, and if they cannot be reached the school will provide the student with appropriate attire.
The students are rebelling against the dress code, causing over 200 of them to receive detention so far this year.
However, some parents are supporting Principal Joseph Scarmato's decision for the stricter dress code.
"The girls wear these little booty shorts that you can see the crease of their buttocks," mom Sasha German, 34, tells New York Post. "They look like they're training to work in strip clubs."
Some students say they aren't following the dress code for one simple reason - there is no air conditioning in the school. On Sept. 5, the second day of school, the building reached 87 degrees, according to NY Post.
On the second day of school student Gianna Savattere donned a crop top, but was not detained because she pulled it down over her stomach all day. She admitted to Staten Island Live that her only issue with the dress code policy is the heat in the school since there is no air conditioning.
Scarmato wrote in the student handbook explaining that the dress code is preparing students for college and the workforce.
