The Educational Ombudsman Service is again receiving appeals, and posts from parents are circulating on social media about students being forced to wear school uniforms or certain forms of clothing such as “white top, black bottom.” Parents report school “raids” during classes on the appearance of students, carried out by teachers and school administrators. Children are not allowed to attend or are suspended from classes because of their appearance.
The war, air raids, almost daily movements to shelters during the 5 days of the school year, hours-long blackouts at school and at home affect the psychological state of children. And instead of ensuring the educational process and taking care of children’s safety, some teachers carry out inspections and “raids” of students’ appearance, violating the law. They put pressure on children, and when systematically reprimanded, they bully children and, in addition, deprive children of the right to receive education, which is already difficult to obtain under the above conditions.
Therefore, we call on teachers and the administration of educational institutions to stop all measures to check students’ clothing.
Don’t waste your precious time with these unnecessary and illegal things!
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The Education Ombudsman Service reminds that school clothes are a free choice of the child and/or his or her parents. The only recommendations for such clothing are neatness, seasonality, and comfort, in particular when students are in shelters. No requirements regarding the style, color or other attributes of school uniforms are permissible or legal.
We recommend that you develop clothing recommendations together with your students and their parents.
Prohibiting a student from attending classes because they do not have a mandatory school uniform or are “not wearing the right clothes for school” violates their right to education.
In addition, suspension from school and sending a child home to change clothes during the educational process can endanger the child’s life and health. After all, instead of being in school, the child can be anywhere, and in the event of an air raid during class, will not be under the supervision of a teacher in a shelter. The person who committed this illegal act is responsible for the life and health of the student at this time.
Please note that neither the charter nor the regulations on school uniforms have a higher force than the law. No regulatory document provides for the mandatory wearing of school uniforms. Therefore, this requirement in the charters is illegal. And the regulation on mandatory school uniforms that some schools have is an illegal document that has no legal force.
If you are forced to wear a school uniform or a certain form of clothing at your school, the Educational Ombudsman Service encourages you to file a complaint about a violation of your child’s right to education.
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