OK, parents, if your son or daughter is in high school, look them over before they head out the door. Virtually all area public high schools’ dress codes say:

No cleavage.

No midriff.

No shirts featuring tobacco, Corona or a marijuana leaf.

And take off that hat!

If you go to St. Dominic Regional High School, the dress code is more conservative: Boys have to wear collared shirts and a tie; girls’ hem lines can’t go higher than the knee. Sweats, flip-flops and T-shirts aren’t allowed. Jeans only on “relax days.”

At that Catholic, college-prep school students must “dress for success. It’s a cliche, but it works,” said St. Dom’s Principal Don Fournier.

At public high schools, principals say on most days most students are good about following dress code, but occasionally some push the limits.

There’s a conflict in society around what people wear, observed Lewiston High School Principal Gus LeBlanc.

“Television, Hollywood and pop culture has a strong influence on the way we dress. It often presents conflicting messages for young people.”

Girls are especially more of a target, thanks to skimpy outfits in the media. “Young females have more pressure to dress that way,” LeBlanc said. “I can’t change that.”

But schools do remain institutions “that have to have a higher bar, higher standards than on the street and at the beach,” LeBlanc said.

At most public schools, clothing featuring tobacco, drugs or alcohol, or inappropriate messages, are not allowed.

“Parents need to be aware that clothes in violation of policy includes drugs, alcohol, suggestive messages, not only sexual but intolerance for people: color, race, creed or religion,” LeBlanc said. “Any shirt that suggests any kind of civil unrest, or clothing too suggestive.”

Hats, hoods and sunglasses cannot be worn during school. Heads can be covered for religious reasons.

Girls cannot wear clothes that reveal cleavage or stomachs. Dresses and skirts can only be so short.

School officials do have to tell students to turn that shirt with a marijuana leaf inside out, take off their hat or sunglasses, and girls are instructed to cover up.

Edward Little Assistant Principal Steve Galway said warm weather in the fall and spring presents more of a challenge.

Kids returning from summer vacation don’t always remember that their shirt featuring drugs or alcohol can’t be worn. They forget baseball caps and sunglasses must be removed. “We have to help them with that transition,” Galway said.

And like other principals, he’s had to deal with girls who come to school dressed too skimpily.

“I’ve made announcements over the intercom in the morning that it’s time to remind young ladies that we’re seeing way too much cleavage,” Galway said.

One time, a female student was dressed so inappropriately that Galway called her mother. “She told me, ‘You’re wrong. I saw her this morning'” and her daughter was dressed appropriately. “The mom thought I was crazy.”

The mother came to the school and discovered her daughter was wearing a different outfit than when she left home. “She had another outfit in her book bag,” Galway said.

When the dress code is ignored by students and no adults take action, the problem can snowball, administrators said.

Pushing the limits is part of being a teen, LeBlanc said. “Knowing that, we try not to be draconian. We listen, and tell them, ‘That’s not acceptable. We’ll provide a different shirt if you want.'” If students refuse, they could be sent home.

How they look is important to kids. What they wear “defines who they are,” Galway said. “They’re connecting to other kids.”

Principals’ plea: High school parents are asked to check their children’s student handbook and read what it says for the dress code.

At Edward Little, the code is discussed on pages 11 and 33.

At Lewiston, the dress code is in the student handbook on pages 11 and 12.

Some schools have the student handbooks online for parents to read.

For Lewiston High’s student handbook, go to http://www.lewiston.k12.me.us/~lhsparents/ and click on student handbook.