We need to get out as many letters, phone calls faxes and e-mails as possible supporting our opposition to removal of the opt out policy. Remember that an individual can only have one letter published in the Ledger in a 30 day period, but don't forget to involve your spouses, friends, and even older children. The Ledger is totally for uniforms and dropping the opt out policy so we must get our views heard! Go to our contact page for information on who to contact, phone numbers, web links, and addresses.
If anyone has anything they would like to add to these pages, please let us know (through the e-mail addresses at the bottom of almost every page). This page needs to reflect the opinions of as many people who want to preserve our parental rights as possible.
What we need to say:
The biggest piece of disinformation coming from our opponents is the claim that uniforms are failing in Polk because of the opt out. I know this is false because virtually every school district in the country with a uniform policy allows the parents to opt out for any reason. This includes Long Beach, California (supposedly the most successful uniform policy in the country), Dade county, FL, Wisconsin, New York city, the list goes on. In fact, all of the state laws allowing local districts to implement school uniforms mandate an opt out - this includes California and Wisconsin. Florida has no such state law.
The opposition is repeating the claim over and over that the only reason uniforms are failing is because of the opt out. We must strongly refute this false claim or we will lose this issue.
We also need to make it clear that we absolutely will sue if the opt out policy is removed. As far as I can tell, most members of the school board do not care at all about the parents' opinions on this matter. The only thing that has kept them from removing the opt out policy so far has been the threat of a lawsuit. I have contacted the ACLU of Florida to ask for assistance and a "packet" that is the first step required to get their help. I am hoping to get an update on challenges to uniform policies from them soon, and possibly getting them to write a letter to the school board stating their position on the uniform issue, including their desire to challenge mandatory uniform policies without an opt out.
We need to remind officials that the parents of Polk County have spoken. A large number of parents have taken the fairly difficult step of going to the school and filling out the opt out forms (they took action, they weren't passive about it) to be free of the uniform policy.
We also need to emphasize that Florida citizens have enhanced privacy rights in their state constitution, making a challenge even more likely to succeed in Florida than in other states.
Also, I believe that school board member Andrea Whitely's desire to suspend children out of uniform is outrageous! This is clearly a case of the wrong priorities and must be challenged as strongly as possible. When the uniform policy was originally passed, school board members fell all over themselves to assure the public that no child would be penalized academically over the uniform policy.
Polk county resident Ray Felch, who will be directly affected if the
opt out is removed (because he has children in elementary and middle school),
has written a wonderful article that sums up most of the views listed on
this page. He wrote the article last year, the last time the school board
attempted to remove the opt out. His article is titled "School
Uniforms: Prevention or Suppression?".
Note that letters to the editor must be brief (generally 300 words
or less) - you do not need to address every single one of these issues
in a single letter.
Also, don't forget that while letters to the editor are an important tool to educate the public about our reasons for opposition to the opt out policy, it is the Polk County School Board that will make the decision. We must contact the school board as much as possible between now and May 11th to let them know how strongly we oppose removal of the opt out.
Please e-mail us ( through Darlene Williams
) with any other points that you think should be addressed.
Polk County School Uniforms Home Page