Backlog of bills to governor will not allow enough time to give parents proper notice

By JOSEPH B. NADEAU
 
WOONSOCKET — A plan to put local students into school uniforms this fall appears to have gone aground for at least another year.

That was the forecast school officials were offering Wednesday as the legislative bill authorizing the new local policy remained tied up in a pile of legislation still pending transmittal to the governor.
Even if the bill were to proceed on to Gov. Donald L. Carcieri within the coming week and win his approval, the committee still would not be able to implement the policy this fall, according to School Committee Chairman Marc A. Dubois.
The wording of the legislation requires the school department to give parents sufficient warning of the policy taking effect and that cannot be accommodated in time for the start of school, Dubois said.
“We can’t have it start the first day of school because we have to give parents 90 days notice first,” he said.
The notice requirement, that “the committee shall give three months notice to parents before a dress code is required,” is included in the final version of the bill approved in concurrence by the Senate and the House.
The Senate bill introduced by state Sen. Roger Picard, D-Dist. 20, Woonsocket, passed the Senate on April 1 and was sent on to the House. The House passed the bill in concurrence on June 23.
But for now at least, Picard explained Wednesday, the bill is still awaiting transmittal to the governor for his consideration.
Bills are often sent on the governor in groups following a busy legislative season and may not
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be considered immediately, Picard said.
“It was approved by the House on June 23, but has not been released to the governor,” Picard said. Carcieri would have the option of signing the bill, allowing it to become law without his signature after 10 days, or to veto it once it is transmitted, according to Picard.
While delayed, Picard said he does believe the bill will gain final approval by the state. “But as you know, it is only enabling legislation what the school department decides to do with it at that point is up to them,” he said.
Dubois said he is confident the school committee will implement a uniform policy when it does get state authorization, but also believes parents should not be burdened with extra costs to comply.
Even if the bill were to be signed next week, Dubois said the School Committee would still need to approve a formal policy enacting it at an upcoming meeting of the committee. If that were to be placed on the committee’s August agenda, parents would still need 90 days notice pushing implementation to December or January.
“Times are tough right now. People will already have bought a bunch of clothes for their children and then to have them turn around and buy uniforms in January might be too much ask,” he said.
A better idea would be to approve a policy requiring uniforms for the start of the 2010-2011 school year,” he said.
There is also the possibility the policy would be challenged and Dubois said he is sure some might oppose its implementation.
“But I think in the long run parents will be happy with it,” he said. “Of the parents, I have spoken to, I would say 80 percent love the idea. The kids are about 50-50 on it,” he said.
Most parents would find it cheaper to buy a standardized set of clothing for their children, and the type of clothing selected for uniforms should also be more durable, he said.
The school committee has already determined that the uniform would consist of maroon or grey tops, whether that is a polo shirt, t-shirt or sweat shirt, and beige or black Docker or Dickie-type slacks. Girls could also choose to wear skorts, a type of combination shorts and skirt, of the same colors.
The school committee must still decide how to implement those requirements for grades K-12, and also decide what penalties would be used to enforce it, he said.
While that is all still in the works, Dubois said he expects the committee will want a policy that is mandatory for all students rather than a voluntary one.
Woonsocket would be the first public school district in Rhode Island with a mandatory uniform policy if the school committee eventually gets to the point of approving that step.