CONWAY, N.H. (AP) – Forget about the latest teen fashion in the Conway schools. Under a proposed dress code, T-shirts and low-rise pants are out. So are low necklines and bare midriffs for girls.

The Conway School Board has given preliminary approval to a strict dress code drafted by administrators at the Kennett middle and high schools, but it’s seeking public comment before approving a final version.

The code, modeled on one already in effect at Fryeburg Academy, a private prep school in Maine, would take effect next fall.

“Concern for personal appearance is an indication of self-respect and courtesy towards others,” the proposed dress code states. “Failure to comply with the dress code will be treated as insubordination.”

On the list of approved clothing are polo and button-down shirts, sweaters and sweatshirts, turtlenecks and jersey “dress shirts.” The code says they must be long enough to tuck in and cannot have any writing or graphics except a small logo.

The code bans spaghetti straps, tube tops, muscle shirts, see-through fabric, visible underwear, low necklines, skirts shorter than mid-thigh, necklines that display cleavage, hoods, hats, sunglasses, tattered clothing, or clothing decorated with chains or spikes. It also prohibits wearing any gang insignia, colors or symbols.

School board member Deb Deschenes said she had heard concerns about the cost of shirts with collars and pledged to spend some of her yearly board stipend to buy 20 shirts for 10 students.

“I think a dress code has been a long time in coming,” she said. “When you go into the work field, all sorts of different jobs require uniforms and that you look presentable. I look at this as a positive movement for our students and I think it will work.”

The student representative to the school board, Ned Goodwin, said students are generally supportive of the code, but have questions about whether members of sports teams can wear their uniform shirts before games, as in the past.

“You could wear your jersey over a collared shirt,” Deschenes replied. “I don’t think they’ll take these sort of things away from the students – it’s a pride thing and I think it’s important it’s recognized.”

The code says students who are unsure whether a particular item is allowed should check with a teacher or administrator before wearing it to school.

School board member Randy Davison asked what would be done to enforce the code and whether parents would be held accountable.

“In Fryeburg, they give the parent a call and they have to come and pick up the student,” he said.

Board member Mike DiGregorio said he would have liked an even stricter code that excluded jeans and cargo pants.

“We need to separate when a child is going to hang out with friends and when they are going to school to learn something,” he said.