NORWICH — As students in Norwich Public Schools won’t need to wear school uniforms in the fall, school officials are deciding what a dress code would look like.

On Tuesday, the Norwich Board of Education had the first reading of the draft dress code, which will replace the uniform policy in the fall. While many points were covered in the new dress code policy, board members focused on safety and how revealing certain articles of clothing are.

The new dress code policy is expected to be adopted at the June Board of Education meeting.

A survey was conducted by the district concerning the new dress code, with 1,509 respondents, consisting of 81 students, 1,127 parents, and 301 teachers.

Based on the results of the survey, some articles of clothing, like hats and hoodies or clothing with explicit content, were clearly opposed. Other commonly opposed items of clothing included spiked jewelry and over-sized clothing, with concern about those types of clothing posing hazards.

Though flip-flops are not yet specified in the dress code, board member Christine Distasio said Tuesday that she felt strongly against them.

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“I don’t think they’re safe, especially in these hallways with people bunched up and (stepping) on the backs of them, making kids fall,” Distasio said during the Tuesday night meeting.

However, board member Al Daniels said flip-flops weren’t seen as a hazard under the prior uniform policy.

“So if we didn’t think they were a hazard in the past, we’re not going to make them a hazard today,” Daniels said.

Regarding articles of clothing commonly worn by girls, board member Heather Fowler said that many dress code policies seem to affect girls more than anyone else.

“I feel like the girls are being penalized still, and we’re all about equality, and some of these things punish the girls more than anyone,” Fowler said.

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While understanding that spaghetti straps would be inappropriate, Fowler that there are girls who don’t like wearing t-shirts, and would rather wear a tank tops and sleeveless dresses, especially in the summer.

“I think that (with) a classy tank top, you can still cover yourself and be considered appropriate in my eyes,” Fowler said.

In regards to leggings, Fowler commented that students shouldn’t be wearing leggings that are too tight, but said that styles have changed. Another board member, Greg Perry, commented that his eight-year-old daughter wears leggings nearly every day, and he finds it appropriate. Perry also said that many parents, teachers and staff wear leggings.

“We don’t want to make school so much more restrictive than the general public,” Perry said.

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Superintendent Kristen Stringfellow reminded the board that the final policy’s language should be gender-neutral, as that’s how the draft document is written by the district’s legal counsel, so it uses broader terms like tank tops.

“When you get into certain language, like spaghetti straps and leggings, you are leaning toward one gender,” Stringfellow said.

Fowler and board member Joshua Chapman then suggested writing the language to reflect what parts of the body need to be covered.

Board member Mark Kulos said changes can still be made to the dress code as needed.

“This is a fluid document,” Kulos said.