The school board of Johnston County, a school district in North Carolina, recently amended their policies regarding student dress and appearance. The district faced a lawsuit this past October regarding the suspension of a girl sporting a nose stud in religious observance.
Facial piercings—which fall under the category of jewelry and accessories—are now allowed in the Johnston County schools as long as they don’t constitute a threat to a student’s health or disruption of the integrity of a school’s learning environment, said Terri Sessoms, public information officer of the Johnston County school board.
Some believe that the Johnston County school board's decision was based off a lawsuit that the district faced last year after suspending high school freshman Ariana Iacono for her decision to wear a nose stud despite the school’s ban on facial piercings.
Jim Lawrence, Johnston County school board attorney, explained that Iacono, a member of the Church of Body Modification, believed she would be entitled to a religious exemption to wear a small nose stud.
“In this situation, the deputy superintendent followed school board policy and upheld the principal’s decision to have her not wear the nose stud,” Lawrence said. U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard issued a temporary restraining order so that Iacono could return to school while the litigation was underway.
The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation. Charges were dropped in June.
Sessoms explained that the lawsuit had nothing to do with the change in board policy.
“About two years ago, the chair of the board began drafting changes because of legislation issues, community input changes, and a variety of other things. He directed the Board of Education to go through each of the board policies and make decisions to update [our school policies],” Sessoms said.
Schools across the state face similar policies in regards to dress and appearance.
According to the policy in Durham Public Schools, “students are prohibited from wearing clothing, jewlry, book bags, or other articles of personal appearance which...may create a threat to the health or safety of the student or others….may create a significant risk of disruption to the educational process.”
Jeffrey Nash, interim chief communications officer for Durham Public Schools, has heard no discussion within the district regarding the suit or the decisions made by Johnston County Schools.
“I don’t believe there is one standardized answer to the question of facial piercings disrupting a child’s learning environment. There are two distinct variables involved—the eccentricity of the facial piercing and the distractability of a peer,” Nash wrote in an email.
Sophomore Lillie Reed, who recently got a nose piercing, said that she thinks it is out of line for authorities to tell a student what he or she should or shouldn't put on one's body.
"I’m not just saying this because I have my nose pierced," Reed said. "Facial piercings are becoming a much more common thing, and I think [authorities] need to adapt with the times."
It appears that schools are beginning to take heed of this viewpoint.
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