Mother Push For Change In LPSS Dress Code Policy After 4-Year-Old Son Left Outside With No Coat
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) - Ikerra Wilson’s viral Facebook post sparked a conversation among parents and the community about the Lafayette Parish School System dress code policy.
With over seven hundred reshares the mother voiced her disappointment and outrage with Evangeline Elementary School after she went to pick her 4-year-old son from school and he was outside with no coat in nearly freezing temperatures. “When I got there at the school, my baby was outside sitting down when I pulled up and he walked up to the car shivering and I said, ‘Where is my baby jacket?’,” said Wilson.
In a statement from a LPSS spokesperson, News 10 learned Wilson was informed by school administration that the student's hooded jacket did not comply with the dress code and was held in the office.
Due to cold weather, students remained inside the building during the day. Unfortunately, the jacket was not returned to the student before dismissal. “There's no way a kid should be sitting outside with no jacket on, even with a coat on in 30 degree weather. It was feeling like 20 something degrees with the winds. So there is no way that someone should have to sit outside like that,” she said. “I hope that no kid has to deal with what my baby dealt with because that hurt me. I had on a jacket and my baby didn't. That really hurt me really bad. Like no kid should have to go through any of that because of a hood. He had a jacket on. Had I done something like that, I would have had CPS at my front door. So something needs to be done. It’s sad these babies have to deal with that and then elementary school.”
Wilson said her son had outgrown his other coats and he had to wear what was available. “I feel like they could have been so much then put them outside but as far as the dress code, there should be some type of exception for this kind of weather,” she said. “We have these babies in your hands and we look forward to you guys to protect our kids. It’s no way a kid should have to deal with that and on my part, I take full accountability for it. I really do and I feel sorry that my baby had to go through that. I take full accountability for it and I’ve read so many things of people saying, oh, was the parent's fault, she should have read the handbook. That handbook doesn't mean anything to me when it's cold like this.”
Lashonda Wilson, the grandmother said, “It is absolutely sad. It has upset me. I was very angry about the situation because I wouldn't myself wouldn't even let my grandchildren go play outside if it’s cold and I think that the faculties or whoever has this rule needs to change it.”
School administration has apologized to the parent and addressed the matter directly. To prevent similar issues and ensure students’ comfort, children are now kept in the cafeteria while waiting for pick-up, avoiding exposure to the cold.
Elementary school principals have been directed to take steps to prevent similar situations in the future. Teachers will remind students that hooded garments are prohibited under the LPSS Dress Code Policy. Students wearing such garments will be required to remove them while inside the building, and parents will be notified of any policy violations so they can plan accordingly.
The Dress Code Policy can be found on page 26 of the 2025-26 LPSS Student/Parent Handbook.