How do you feel about school uniforms? What about school dress codes? Bans on hats? Rules about, well, yoga pants?

One look at Twitter this afternoon and you can see that parents have a lot to say about the dress code at St. Joseph Catholic High School in Ottawa, which is making headlines due to a reported ban on yoga pants. According to the school’s code of conduct and their dress code, in addition to rules about bare midriffs, tube tops and spaghetti straps, it states in bold letters that leggings that are not covered by shorts or a skirt of acceptable  length are not permitted. (We can’t help but note that the rules say absolutely nothing about yoga pants specifically, but instead talk about form-fitting leggings.) These rules are not new, they are just becoming more strictly enforced.

They’re also stirring up a lot of emotions. The issue has sparked some very interesting conversations in the parent community online about who gets to decide what is inappropriate to wear to school, about whether responsibility lies with the school or with the parents, and whether dress code rules actually create a better learning environment for students.

According to the National Post, one angry mother, Kathie Cloutier, wrote a letter to the school board and then took her opinions to Facebook, saying: “Why is the emphasis not more on my daughter’s actual education rather than what pants she’s wearing? Does our school system really have nothing better to do than come up with more reasons to make students rebel? It seems to me that schools seem to concentrate more on ‘appearances’ rather than what they are actually there for—to teach our children. Enough is enough already—please just worry about teaching my child rather than turning them off of attending school by imposing ridiculous bans such as this one.”

Do you think the rule against students wearing tight-fitting pants is fair? Or should schools be more worried about academics, and less worried about banning balls, forcing French on the playground and busting kids for wearing leggings as pants?