KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. — The Kershaw County School District addressed a dress code issue on Tuesday evening at the district board meeting, after two teachers were reportedly told they needed to change their shirts because they violated school policy the prior week.
At the February 15, 2022, board meeting, a community member addressed the board during the public comment session saying two teachers were asked to change their shirts because they featured writing in celebration of Black History Month.
"He (the principal) decided there would be no more shirts with writing on them unless it said North-Central Elementary," the community member said. "During this time, teachers asked if they could wear birthday and other holiday writing on their shirts. He immediately contradicted himself and said yes. So, the next day, the teachers decided to wear their Black History Month shirts. They were informed they needed to change -- one decided to turn her shirt inside-out, the other was told she could go home and change."
Kershaw County School District superintendent Dr. Shane Robbins responded. "It was probably an interpretation of the dress code," Robbins said. "And again, as a building leader, if there is any type of dress that is going to disrupt the school environment, then by all means, they have the authority to ask someone to change. Probably the manner we do things, we need to make sure we are consistent across the school district. We're following board policy."
The incident regarding the shirts reportedly happened last week. Multiple people confirmed to News19 that one shirt said "Black History 24-7-365."
A check of the Kershaw County School District employee dress code states that t-shirts are not allowed to be worn. It also says "chief building or department administrators have the authority to set standards for their site or department that go beyond these minimal requirements."
Click here to see the full Kershaw County School District Staff Dress Code Policy.