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Students of Edmonton’s public schools will be guided by a gender-blind dress code if a board proposal is approved.

The Edmonton public school board is considering its first district-wide dress code guidelines on Tuesday. The motion calls for a dress code that does not target students based on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, cultural observance, socioeconomic status, body type, or size. If approved, the new dress code guidelines would be rolled out immediately.

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The goal is to help students have a positive sense of self, said trustee Bridget Stirling, who made the motion.

“There’s a lot of room for expression in students clothing — it’s where young people express their creativity,” Stirling said. “We want them to feel supported … We also want to respect that students’ bodies come in all sorts of sizes and shapes.”

The motion comes right before the summer, which Stirling said is a time when dress codes tend to come into question. The trustee added that she’s heard of codes that limit the length of skirts on girls, but not the length of pants on boys. While she didn’t comment on any specific conflicts over dress codes, she doesn’t want school dress codes to target girls over boys.