The Beaufort County Board of Education gave its final approval for new changes to the school dress code a little more than a week ago.

Sarah Hodges, public information officer for Beaufort County Schools, said the dress code was revised last month, but the school system waited for the board’s final approval before officially presenting it to the public.

Per the revised code, shirts are no longer required to have a collar, no athletic pants and shorts are permitted and the “other approved tops” section has been removed for simplicity.

Most of the standards will remain the same, however, including restrictions on undersized or oversized garments, sleeveless shirts and inappropriate footwear.

“We had lot of input from parents as well as administrators,” Hodges said. “We want the parents to see this as an example that we do hear them.”

She said the board thinks the revisions will make shopping for school clothes easier for the parents.

The changes were made to maintain the school system’s standards of “professionalism and appropriateness,” Hodges said.

Don Phipps, superintendent of Beaufort County Schools, said changes to the dress code are not out of the ordinary, as the board continually monitors it.

He said one of the biggest changes is the allowance of non-collared shirts, a request made by both parents and principals.

“We’ve tweaked it over the years in several different ways,” Phipps said. “I don’t feel like there will be any issues.”