Texas Middle School Tries To Ban Students From Wearing All Black Clothing Citing ‘Mental Health’ Concerns
The school has since put the ban on hold following angry outcry from parents and community members.
Monkey Business Images | Canva Pro School uniforms have long been a solution to issues like kids being picked on over clothes, shoes, backpacks, and other trends. But one El Paso, Texas middle school recently issued a new dress code to tackle issues far deeper than bullying — and parents are not happy about it.
The uproar has been so strong that the school has since rescinded the new dress code, but the controversy over school officials' seeming misunderstanding of the issues students face has continued regardless.
Charles Middle School in El Paso, Texas, banned all-black clothing, citing 'mental health' and 'criminality' concerns.
The dress code didn't ban black entirely but rather banned students from wearing black "from head to toe" to school. The ban itself seems like an overreach to many, but the stated reasons for it have inspired even more ire.
In a letter sent home to students' parents in advance of the first day of school on Monday, August 12, Principal Nick DeSantis explained all-black clothing would be banned because it is "associated with depression and mental health issues and/or criminality."
The school further explained that the change was to "foster a positive self-image among students and more effectively showcase the school’s colors and pride.”
Norma De La Rosa, the president of El Paso Teachers Association, the local teachers' union, told local media that the decision was based on teachers reporting that they've seen students go through abrupt shifts when depressed or stressed that included all-black clothing. But that explanation has not held water with parents and local residents.
Parents are angry at the overreach, and especially over the suggestion that kids' mental health can be managed with clothes.
If the notion of banning black attire to manage mental health issues — to say nothing of crime — strikes you as absurd, you are not alone. In social media posts about the new policy, many parents and local residents were furious.
Some were annoyed that the announcement was made so close to the start of school after they'd already done their back-to-school shopping. One parent, Fabiola Flores, told local media, "We already bought the black pants, so we have to buy [pants] again." She also said the school should have consulted parents to get their perspective before making the new policy.
However, others were more concerned about school officials seeming to lack any understanding of mental health issues. "The color of clothing has nothing to do with your ability to do anything or feel any emotion,” one commenter, Alex Lucero, said.
“Making students wear a different color isn’t going to magically make them a completely different person,” another, Alexis Contreras, added.
Studies have shown that all colors, black included, have both positive and negative associations.
We've all heard, or maybe even lived, the myriad stereotypes about black clothing, from the "goths" and "metalheads" we went to school with to the black-clad villains in practically every story and movie ever made.
However, the field of color psychology, which studies how colors impact and interact with our minds, has found that black, like all other colors, has both positive and negative associations. Psychological studies have revealed people associate the color black with everything from authority and elegance to sophistication and intelligence.
Black is also associated with death and mourning, of course; studies have found that when it comes to issues like depression, patients most often cite gray as the color they most link with the condition.
More importantly, psychologists say there is no evidence that colors themselves trigger depression or any other mental health issue, which are clinical diagnoses that cannot be cured by simply putting on a pretty red dress — as much as many of us probably wish they were.
Charles Middle School has since put their no-black policy 'on hold' following the uproar.
After parents and those in the community expressed their frustration and criticisms of the policy, the school rescinded the policy pending further review.
In a statement to USA Today, De La Rosa explained, "The campus and the district will be reviewing the proposed change and will make sure that the proper procedures are put in place to get feedback from all parties as to possible future changes."
That's probably for the best. Surely, she and the school district had their hearts in the right place, but simply banning a sign of an illness does not treat the illness itself.
And with 1 in 5 kids between the age of 12-17 having at least one major depressive episode each year, Charles Middle School's students need a lot more support than simply changing the color of their shirt or pants can provide.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice, and human interest topics.