New Dress Code at PHS
Launch the media gallery 1 playerBy Elizabeth Furstenau
For years, the students at Pierce High have fought for the freedom to wear leggings and shorts. Officially put into effect on August 11, 2025, that freedom has been granted.
PHS has had a strict dress code rule that stated leggings and shorts may be worn, but only on Thursdays and Fridays. The faculty has given out many dress code violations over the years due to students wearing them on Mondays, Tuesdays, and/or Wednesdays. The violations grew so plentiful that shorts were taken away from the male students altogether, while the leggings ban was only threatened.
“I was pretty devastated when shorts got banned,” Brayden Suckstorf explains. “I was struggling to find other clothes to wear for the week.”
In 2003, Principal Lynn Moeller granted the students the freedom to wear sport shorts to school. This was only allowed on Fridays. During that time, leggings and yoga pants were not very popular so they did not apply to the rule. When leggings came into style and more people began wearing them, the rule applied to them as well. This remained a dress code rule until a few years ago. It was the class of 2026’s 7th grade year when the rule had changed to leggings and sports shorts allowed on not only Fridays, but now Thursdays as well.
During the 2024 Nebraska legislative session, a law was passed directing the Nebraska Department of Education to compile a model dress code policy to be implemented in all public school districts for the 2025-2026 school year. This new policy allowed for the rule to cease.
“Strict or lenient is in the eye of the beholder, but I believe a dress code in general teaches students their dress should be appropriate for their environment,” superintendent Kendall Steffensen believes. “Meaning a person would likely dress differently depending if they are at school, work, home, etc.”
Steffensen also believes that a dress code should provide a balance between distraction free learning and student expression. He is not against the new policy and thinks it holds that balance for each student.
Many people agree with Steffensen. The dress code teaches students responsibility, but also allows them to express themselves.
Payton Ebmeier and Suckstorf each express that they feel more free since they no longer have to wait until Thursday and Friday. Ebmeier also found it difficult to find alternatives to wear the other three days of the week.
“You could only wear jeans and sweatpants,” Ebmeier claims. “Jeans are uncomfortable and it is hard to find good jeans that are comfortable.”
Each believes that the students have a right to wear what they want.
“Everybody is their own person and with a strict dress code, it restricts what people can and can’t wear,” Ebmeier explains.
The new policy has opened a new sense of freedom to each and every student. It is also easier for teachers since they now do not need to dress code violators as often.
