A Parent’s Exemption Nightmare at Crandall ISD

03/23/2003

Imagine living all your life in a town where your great grandparents have lived since 1912.  Your grandfather and his brothers and sisters were born there.  Your mother, brother and some of your aunts, uncles and cousins live there.  There are three roads in this town named after members of your family.  One day, you disagree with the school district’s superintendent on how your child should be raised.  This superintendent, Jerry Morgan, tells you “if you don’t like it, you can just move.”

My name is Shannon Watkins and this is just part of the nightmare I am living because I requested an exemption from the school uniform policy for my daughter.

 Just as I don’t believe Mr. Morgan should tell me how to raise my children, I do not believe I need his permission to decide where I should live.  This is my home and I was raised to believe that instead of running when I don’t like something, I should work as hard as I can to make it what I like, what I want and what I believe in.  I plan to raise my daughter with that belief as well.

 I requested this exemption on August 13, 2001.  The reason for my request was based on my religious and philosophical beliefs pertaining to individuality, parental authority, feminine dress, teaching your children to make choices and not to have the choices made for them, and my belief that uniforms should not be used as a tool in the learning environment.

 I met with the school principal, John Rouse, on August 27, 2001 to discuss the request.  Mr. Rouse wanted me to fill out a questionnaire, which was not required by TEC 11.162 in order to request an exemption.  Because I felt the questionnaire was an invasion of my privacy, not relevant to my beliefs and not a requirement, I chose not to complete it.  He then wanted to ask me the questions on the questionnaire.  I told him that I would be happy to answer any questions about my beliefs.  I asked him more than once if he had any questions about my beliefs.  He said he had no questions about my beliefs.

 After less than five minutes, Mr. Rouse stated “I am going to deny based on I don’t have enough information to change it the other way.”  I told him he has three pages of information explaining my beliefs.   He said “exactly and based on that, I don’t see that’s enough to warrant me to grant the exemption.”  Mr. Rouse had no interest in my religious or philosophical beliefs, only whether or not my daughter had ever been in little league.

 Mr. Rouse also told me the children are showing a sense of pride and they are “bouncy.”  My child is not showing a sense of pride and she is not bouncy!  If she were allowed to wear feminine clothes she might be bouncy!  Her pride has been taken away by the school who has given her the message that what she and I believe in does not matter.  She shows no self-esteem because she is being forced to wear clothes she doesn’t want to wear.

 Before the meeting was over, Mr. Rouse was quoting Bible scriptures that tell us to do what’s right by the laws that are set.  When I told him that I didn’t see the uniform policy as a law, he replied “I use that term loosely.”  He quotes this scripture and then refuses to abide by his own belief of following the laws.  The law allows parents to opt-out of uniform policies based on religious and philosophical objections, but he will not abide by this law.

 He then told me my next step was to meet with Mr. Morgan.  I questioned Mr. Rouse and Mr. Morgan’s authority since the TEC 11.162 only states that the “board of trustees” has the authority to make the decision.  He still forced me to meet with Mr. Morgan even though he didn’t have the authority.  I can’t help but feel that this process was put in place to waste the time of the parents in an effort to make them give up.

 I then met with Mr. Morgan on August 28, 2001.  He informed me that he and Mr. Rouse do have the authority to make the decision and that authority was given to them by the school board.  Does that mean the school board of the Crandall ISD has the authority to rewrite the Texas Education Code laws?

 I laid a copy of my request detail in front of him.  He never bothered to pick it up and look at it.  I have many religious and philosophical beliefs with which the uniform policy interferes.  He asked me to discuss my reasons.  I began with my religious belief of parental authority.  He then said that when a parent sends a child to school the parent is putting the school in the responsibility or in the place of the parent.  He then said, “are you saying you don’t want your child to be in school?”  I replied back that I do want my child to be in school but that I don’t believe the school assumes the role of the parent. 

 He then changed the subject to the questionnaire.  I informed him that the questionnaire was an invasion of privacy and of the irrelevance of the form.  I talked again about my authority over my child and he informed me that the school has the authority to dress my child and that it has already been decided.  He then asked me what I didn’t like about the dress code.  Although I have many objections, I couldn’t state them all in answer to that question - especially with Mr. Morgan interrupting me throughout most of the meeting.  I was to there explain my beliefs but instead he was trying to impose his beliefs on me with complete disregard for mine.  I told him I didn’t like dressing my daughter like a boy.

 He then said that it would not be possible for him to determine whether I have a sincere objection unless I filled out the questionnaire or answered questions about it.  He then went on to tell me his opinions on how the uniform has improved the atmosphere.  He noted the opt-out provision was there for those that have a bona fide religious or philosophical difference.  He then informed me that I objected to the district implementing a standardized dress policy and that he was sorry I didn’t approve of that.  I said that I think the school can have the authority but that Texas Law provides that we have an opt-out policy.  His response was “When your daughter is in the ninth grade, will you let her participate in extra curricular activities?”  I still do not see how optional, extra curricular activities have anything to do with my parental authority, my belief of dressing my daughter femininely, my beliefs that her individuality and development of that individuality are being crushed or any of my other beliefs.

 He said that I was refusing to answer questions regarding what I practiced.  I said that I am not refusing to answer questions about my beliefs.  He said, you are refusing to answer questions about the questionnaire.  I agreed and said that it is not required by TEC 11.162.  I told him that Texas Education Agency, Senior Law Judge Christopher Maska (Norma Tapley vs. Forney ISD) said that not filling out that questionnaire does not constitute a lack of sincerity.  Mr. Morgan then said it has nothing to do with sincerity as much as it has to do with being able to know what you practice and what you believe and being able to determine if you have a bona fide belief!  I then explained to him that a bona fide belief would be “sincerity,” open, honest and in good faith so we are talking about my sincerity.  He said “and uh, so at this point I don’t know what else to do.”  I said again that I do have authority over my children and I do practice that everyday.  He said, “We have authority over the children and it has been given to us by the parent, the parents have given us authority over the children to stand in the place of the parent.”

 Near the end of the meeting, Mr. Morgan made the point that it was the school’s job to teach my child to read, write, calculate math, etc.  I agree with that and I believe it is my job as a parent to teach my child how to dress.

 Mr. Morgan never asked me any questions about my beliefs.  He only touched base on my parental authority and how the school can take my authority away from me while my daughter is at school.  He said, “The law says we have the authority.”  I said, “The law says I have the option to opt-out.”  He continued to complain that I wouldn’t fill out the questionnaire.  Mr. Morgan’s decision to deny my request was based on the fact that I wouldn’t fill out the questionnaire.  Whether or not my child has ever worn a uniform outside of the educational environment will not determine my sincerity of parental authority and feminine dress.  The school has failed or refused to see what my objections are based on.

 Every time I made a valid point that Mr. Morgan couldn’t dispute, he changed the subject.  By the end of my meeting, he still never looked at my opt-out request or my attachments of explanations of my beliefs. 

 Shortly after this meeting, I had a telephone conversation with the asst. superintendent, Dr. Long.  During my telephone conversation with her, she informed me that if they ever have any approved opt-out requests, it would be someone of Muslim or Mennonite faith.  Does this mean that Christianity does not qualify under TEC 11.162 as a bona fide religion?

 Dr. Long also told me that tucked in shirts present more of a business appearance.  It is my personal philosophical belief that my daughter does not need to present a business appearance until she is working in a business environment.  Even then, tucking her shirt in will not be a requirement in order to present a business look.  If she were a male, it might be a requirement.

 The next step I had to take was to present my request to the school board on September 17, 2001.  Dr. Long did not have her shirt tucked in and neither did the other women at the board meeting. 

 At this meeting, Mr. Morgan said that my only complaint was about my parental authority.  That was not true!  Mr. Morgan’s attitude was that no matter what beliefs I had, they were not sincere because they were not his beliefs.  During my meeting with him as well as at the school board meeting, he complained that I wrote my beliefs and statements down.  How else can I submit my request in writing except to write it down?

 After I presented my beliefs, explanations and examples of how I practiced my beliefs, I was informed that my daughter had worn a uniform in dance class and in Girl Scouts.  I informed the board their information was incorrect.  My daughter did not wear a dance uniform during dance class.  She had worn a dance costume one time, during a two hour time period, at a performance.  This in no way conflicted with my beliefs of parental authority and feminine dress.

 Board member Greg Doster announced to the room that he had a picture of my daughter in a Brownie uniform. My daughter has never owned or worn a Brownie uniform.  She wore a Brownie vest over her feminine clothing.  His statement was not true but misled the board anyway.  He could not produce the picture because it did not exist.  Mr. Doster asked if my daughter had worn shorts before as if that would mean that I do not dress her in a feminine manner.  I believe that the cut, style, color, print and pattern of clothing determine what is feminine.  The shorts my daughter has worn in the past were feminine.  Board members commented on jackets my daughter has worn with collars.  The jackets were feminine.  They were pink or had flowers on the collar.

 School Board President, Billy Shepherd stated that he believes what is in this policy is feminine enough for his daughter.  He believes the colors are feminine.  Those are his beliefs - not mine!

 Board member Robbie Simmons asked me why I would not fill out the questionnaire.  I gave my answer again.  He pointed out that baseball was a learning environment.  I pointed out that while the child was learning to play baseball, he was not forced to wear a uniform.  He would only wear the uniform during the competition or performance.  His opinion was that there would be no harm in filling out the questionnaire.  However, I disagreed and since it was not a requirement, I chose not to fill it out.

 One of the very few questions about my religious or philosophical beliefs was regarding my religious belief about not subjecting oneself to worldly regulation.  The question was “How do you differentiate between following the code of conduct and the uniform policy?”  I explained that my daughter does not follow the school’s code of conduct.  She follows the conduct that I have taught her throughout her life and that conduct has always been acceptable to the school.  Another difference between the two regulations is that the uniform policy has an opt-out provision allowed to me and the code of conduct does not.  I believe that not subjecting oneself to worldly regulation means that we shouldn’t do something or follow something or someone just because everyone else is doing it.  We should make our own decisions and base those decisions on our own life experiences and our own knowledge of what we believe to be right and wrong.

 The board complained that I was inconsistent in the practice of my belief because my daughter wore a dance costume and a Brownie vest.  If these instances constitute inconsistency, then the board members are inconsistent in the practice of their belief in uniforms.  They do not wear uniforms.  Their children did not wear uniforms to school before this policy was passed.  Their children do not wear school uniforms 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Does that mean that they are not sincere in the practice of their beliefs?  Do they not truly believe in uniforms?  What I sincerely believe it means is that they believe there is a difference between time in the school and time outside of the school.  I believe that as well.  I believe that a uniform in the educational environment is harmful to my child.  Because I am her parent, I do not want her to be forced to comply with a policy that will harm her.  That is where my parental authority comes into play.

 Mr. Shepherd told me that the uniform policy gets students ready for the outside world where they are not able to make choices about their clothing.  I have been working for over 20 years and I have never been forced to wear a school uniform or any other type of uniform.  I have never been forced to wear collared and tucked in shirts or Dockers and I have always been able to make choices about my clothing.  This uniform policy will not get my child ready for the outside world.  This is a personal philosophical belief based on my life experiences.  I would prefer to base my beliefs on my experiences and not Mr. Shepherd’s.  The school board and administration do not wear school uniforms so they cannot possibly believe that uniforms are required in the outside world.

 Mr. Shepherd began quoting Bible scriptures to me encouraging me to read the three scriptures he quoted, telling me that God tells us to follow the laws of the community.  He said, “There is not a question that a mother and father should teach their child things that are good and we think this policy is good.”  Again, his belief - not mine!  His information to “think the policy is good” is based on opinion.  My information to determine the policy is harmful to my child is based on scientific, factual data as well as religious and personal philosophical beliefs.  No empirical evidence proves uniforms to be responsible for academic success or crime reduction.

 The only beliefs addressed at this meeting were regulation and feminine dress.  Since no other questions about my beliefs were asked, my other beliefs were disregarded and ignored.  I did explain my beliefs to the board and gave examples of how I practiced those beliefs.  They had no evidence to show that I did not practice these beliefs.  Still, they said that I did not practice these beliefs.

 I am extremely concerned that these educators cannot determine sincerity by using their minds and listening to a parent’s beliefs, explanations and examples.  These educators have this narrow minded belief that the only way to determine sincerity is by having a parent fill out a form that someone else created, that has nothing to do with school uniforms.

 The school board and administrators believe that on certain, specific occasions it is acceptable for them to step outside the realm of their belief in uniforms and allow the students to wear other clothing to school.  If I do the same thing by allowing my daughter to wear a dance costume or a Brownie vest on certain, specific occasions, they accuse me of inconsistency in the practice of my belief.  I do not consider this inconsistency.  However, I do consider their attitudes toward the situation to be extremely hypocritical, insulting and unethical.

 A letter I received from Senator Phil Graham states that he believes this type of issue should be resolved by the parents and their local school board.  However, this issue has only been resolved by Mr. Rouse, Mr. Morgan and the school board.  I, the parent, did not resolve anything.  Over a year and a half later, this issue is still not resolved.

 This nightmare has taken my time away from my family and job for over a year and a half.  The school has spent over $11,000 on attorney fees to keep my daughter from being able to opt out of the uniform policy.

 Not only has this district refused to allow my daughter or any other student an exemption, they also refuse to follow their own district policy on the Alternative/Interim Student Dress Code.  This policy requires students to comply with the Alternative/Interim Student Dress Code during their opt-out appeal process.  There is a small section in the handbook that references this policy.  The first paragraph reads:

The alternative/interim student dress code applies only to new students to the District and to students with School Board approved opt-out requests.  New students moving into the District have 10 calendar days to comply with the uniform policy.  Students in the process of opt-out appeal (see FNCA (Local) and FNG (Local) for process and timelines) must comply with the Alternative/Interim Student Dress Code guidelines.  All other students must be in compliance with the student uniform policy guidelines.

 The school tells me that that this policy only applies to new students.  They ignore the sentence that says it applies to “students in the process of opt-out appeal” and refuse to allow my daughter to follow this policy.

 Additional information on this policy was provided to me by the school’s attorney proving that this policy was intended for all students on appeal for an exemption.  The proof was given by the following “bold” information below:

 The “District Standard for Grooming and Appearance” applies to all students.

Compliance

If a non-exempt student attends school in violation of this uniform policy, the following disciplinary steps will be taken:

·        (4 bullet points )

            Disciplinary action will not be taken against a student:

·        in the process of gaining financial assistance to purchase the uniform or is on appeal for an exemption

 I thought for sure that when I provided this proof to Mr. Morgan and Mr. Rouse that they would have no alternative but to comply with their school District’s policy.  Unfortunately, that was not the case and they were not at all concerned with their violations and misrepresentation of District policy.  Mr. Morgan claimed he didn’t know where the policy came from even though I explained to him that his attorney provided it to me along with Mr. Morgan’s signed, sworn affidavit verifying this was the District’s policy.  Mr. Morgan still said that it did not apply to my daughter.  He told me he would look into it and call me.  He did call me later that day and told me that it was not in the handbook so he didn’t have to follow it and that if I didn’t like it I could just move.  This was not a very good excuse since in one of my previous conversations with him he told me “You know ‘fool’ well we can’t put every little thing in the handbook.”  I asked him why the school was allowed to make up rules as they go along.  He told me to quit nitpicking, quit causing so many problems and to follow the rules.  I told him the school should also follow their own rules.  Mr. Morgan then hung up on me and refused to take my return call.  I left a message but he never called me back.  So according to Mr. Morgan, if it is not in the handbook he doesn’t have to comply but my daughter and I have to comply with whatever he says, weather it is in the handbook or not! 

Mr. Morgan told me to follow the rules so I tried to follow the District policy and allowed my daughter to attend school out of UNIFORM!  I should have known that Mr. Rouse would not comply with the District’s policy either since it seems he has the approval of the superintendent and the Board to violate and misrepresent the District’s policies. 

Mr. Rouse could not come up with any other excuse as to why he refused to follow the policy except that my daughter was not a “new student.”  Since this policy clearly states “applies to all students,” the fact that my daughter is not a new student is irrelevant. 

My daughter was sent home with a dress code violation notice and a letter that included the school uniform policy.  Nothing happens to CISD when they violate their own policies so they have no hesitation in doing so.  Mr. Rouse has given my daughter a written violation notice without cause.  She has not violated the policy.  This is simply harassment and intimidation due to my choice to exercise my constitutionally protected rights.  Mr. Rouse obviously talked with someone before he sent the letter so he could come up with another excuse to continue to violate the policy.  This time, the excuse was that my daughter is in the appeal process with the TEA but not with the Board.

If Mr. Rouse and Mr. Morgan had followed TEC 11.162 and the CISD policy on “Opt-Out Provision for Currently Enrolled Students,” the only possible appeal process would be from the Board to the TEA.

CISD’s own policy referenced above, does not give the principal or the superintendent the authority to grant or deny an exemption request.  The principal and superintendent both denied my request in violation of their policy, repeatedly telling me they had the authority.  However, according to the information below as stated in their policy, they DO NOT have the authority.

·        Meet with the designated administrator to discuss the uniform policy and the nature of the objections to the policy.  The purpose of this meeting includes (a) ensuring parental understanding of the reasons for and goals of the uniform policy, (b) verifying the accuracy of the information on the application, (c) preventing fraud and misrepresentation.

·        Meet with the designated District administrator to discuss the nature of the parental objection(s) to the policy.

This policy further goes on to tell us that:

Students who are denied an opt–out exemption by the Board will have fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of ruling to come into compliance.

This is obvious, further clarification that only the Board has the authority to grant or deny an exemption request.  Therefore, an appeal process can only start with the Board.  I am currently in this appeal process.

While the principal, superintendent and the Board may have the authority to interpret their local policies, I know that does not mean they have the authority to rewrite the policies when they decide they do not like what the policies say.  However, they do not hesitate to do this.  This presents the following questions: When these policies were copied from Forney ISD, did anyone bother to read them?  Did someone read them and just not understand them? Did someone understand them and just plan not to follow them?

Crandall ISD claims that they did not copy their policies from Forney ISD.  However, since the Crandall ISD Alternative/Interim dress code allows Forney school logos, I have an enormous amount of trouble believing that Crandall ISD is telling the truth on this issue.  Even without the Forney school logos issue, Crandall’s previous examples of their lack of professionalism, lack of ethics and lack of honesty make it hard to believe anything they say.

I have followed the District’s Grievance Policy in an attempt to make them follow their own policies.  I specifically stated “Since this complaint is partially about the unethical conduct of Jerry Morgan and John Rouse, I do not want to meet with them again on this issue.”  The response I received was a letter from Jerry Morgan saying that the Board wished for him to address the issues/complaints.  However, he has already addressed the issues/complaints with me because he and John Rouse are the ones refusing to follow the District Policy.  Their actions are at the root of my complaints.  The last time he addressed the issues/complaints with me was over the telephone and he hung up on me.  Jerry Morgan has denied me the opportunity to grieve these complaints with the Board.

The Texas Education Code 11.162 gives a parent two different choices to decline participation in the school uniform policy.