Extra police were called Duncanville High School again on Thursday after what school officials called “a minor disruption” in the school cafeteria.
It comes after the suspension Wednesday of about 170 students for dress code violations and another cafeteria disturbance that was caught on a cell phone camera.
In the Wednesday video, a trash can was seen being thrown in the cafeteria.
Thursday, a large crowd of students assembled in the high school’s north parking lot during lunch. And at about the same time, a half dozen additional Duncanville police squad cars drove up to the campus to join school resource officers already stationed at the school.
“It was supposed to be a protest,” said Duncanville Senior L’shai Maston. “Everybody was supposed to sit down in the hallway protesting the dress code and everything, but they escorted everybody out and they called for back up.”
Duncanville ISD Spokesperson Tammy Kuykendall denied any protest took place at the school Thursday, but said 20 additional suspensions were issued to students for dress code violations.
Maston and other students claim the dress code had been loosely enforced all year until Wednesday.
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“It is very, very minor stuff to get suspended on, especially when you are close to final exams and review times,” he said.
His mom said she supports consistent enforcement of a dress code.
“Whatever your policy is, if it’s going to be your policy today, let it be your policy everyday. Not some of the time,” Veronique Maston said.
Duncanville requires boys wear polo type shirts with a collar and sleeves with blue, black or tan color pants and a belt.
Violations include piercings, large belt buckles, untucked shirts, different colored jackets and other issues.
Click here to read the Duncanville ISD dress code.
Duncanville administrators declined interview requests Thursday, but principal Andre Smith said Wednesday the dress code has been enforced all year and that students are held to high expectations.
"I think its part of our responsibility to help students adhere and reach those expectations in school and outside of school," Smith said.
Officials also pointed out the two-day total of nearly 200 suspensions still represents a small fraction of the 4,000 students attending Duncanville High School.
