National Student Dress and Grooming Policy to Be Rolled Out Shortly

Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon says the National Student Dress and Grooming Policy will be rolled out shortly.

The minister made the announcement on Wednesday, during Day 3 of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association’s (JTA) 62nd annual conference at Ocean Coral Spring in Trelawny.

In announcing the policy, Morris Dixon stressed that “a school is not a runway.”

The development of the national policy has been years in the making, with the Ministry of Education beginning consultations in 2022 and introducing a draft at the start of the 2023 school year.

The policy is intended to replace varying school rules on hair and dress with a standardised national framework and to prevent students from being denied access to school grounds because of grooming or dress-code violations.

One of the key provisions in the draft policy allows male students to wear their dreadlocks uncovered.

Morris Dixon told the JTA conference that the final document will guide school administrators in developing their own written grooming rules.

She also said the rules must be shared with parents, who will be expected to encourage their children to comply with the requirements.