CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho (ACLU) released its "Proud to be Brown: Punishing Latine Culture in Idaho Schools" report on Monday, which scrutinizes dress codes within some Canyon County schools.
The report is nearly 40 pages long and details how dress codes within Nampa and Caldwell school districts may or may not "disproportionally" discriminate against Latino and Hispanic students.
"Schools have these policies where they don't allow gang-related clothing," ACLU legal fellow Erica Rodarte said. "But in practice, we see that the policy is not race-neutral. So, Latine students are the ones being mostly disciplined, and Latine clothing items that are related to the Latine community are the ones being punished and targeted."
Rodarte started research for the report last fall, compiling data from both school districts and stories from parents and students in the community. She said students often get in trouble for wearing clothes that honor their culture.
Those items include Catholic rosaries, clothing displaying La Huelga Bird and the words "Brown Pride," Rodarte said.
"It's really not about a fight to wear gang-related clothing," Rodarte said. "It's about students' ability to express themselves and to not be discriminated against in their school when they want to express themselves."
Caldwell School District's dress code policy states, "The wearing, using, carrying, or displaying any other gang clothing or attire, or style, jewelry, emblem, badge, symbol, sign, codes, tattoos, or other things or items which evidence membership or affiliation in any gang is prohibited on any school premises or at any school sponsored activity at any time."
Marisela Pesina, Caldwell School Board chair, said the dress code is pretty comparable to other codes across Idaho. She feels like the ACLU singled out Canyon County with its report.
She said Caldwell does have a gang problem, and the school district's policies are in place to try and keep all students safe and on track.
"We're focused on making sure that our kids have education instructional time in the classrooms," Pesina said. "Anything that takes away from it, we have to address."
Pesina said there is some room for improvements within the dress code, although she believes Latino and Hispanic students can honor their culture in other ways aside from the way they dress or the items they bring to school.
But many people, including Nampa School District parent Chandra Reyna, believe school districts have had enough time to write fair and equal dress codes.
"This has been an issue for a really long time, and it's kind of operating kind of silently," Reyna said. "And unless you're particularly coming into contact with things like color contracts, you wouldn't even know that's something that the school district has."
Reyna said school administrators spend too much time labeling students by what they wear. She believes staff should instead spend their time fostering a safe environment for everyone.
"Does it matter if this child is in a gang? Let's just say this child is. They still deserve since middle school at times and students just feel excluded," Reyna said.
ACLU's report also touched on police surveillance and expulsion rates for Latino and Hispanic students. It states Latine students are consistently suspected and expelled more often than white students.
In Caldwell, Pesina said the numbers are high because there are more Hispanic and Latino students. Administrators also do not take taking students out of class for a long period of time lightly.
"A lot of the expulsion hearings are because we have to keep our kids safe, and there was some type of attack or something," Pesina said.
Reyna believes suspensions and expulsions are not an appropriate response for students involved in gangs or students that come to school with gang-related clothing.
Oftentimes, she said severe punishment pushes those students further away from education.
"They showed up to school today, and they're trying to be ready to learn," Reyna said. "So, we should take all that energy and figure out how to keep them there and keep them engaged."
Pesina said the Caldwell School District will review the report and the suggestions within it.
A Nampa School District spokesperson told KTVB in an email, "We want to emphasize that at no point have we endorsed or supported any practices that discriminate against any of our students. The Nampa School District continues to strive for excellent for all students, including our Hispanic and LatinX students and families. We stand committed with our community to ensure a safer future for all."
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