Students at a Texas middle school have new restrictions on how they can dress for the first day of classes on Monday, as a result of a change in dress code that bans wearing black clothing from head to toe.

The change is taking effect at H.E. Charles Middle School, which is part of the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD). The school’s principal, Nick DeSantis, claimed in a letter sent to parents reported by local media outlets that the color black is “associated with depression and mental health issues,” as well as “criminality.”

The school’s dress code from last school year, published in a student handbook on its website, said students could wear solid polo shirts in the school colors of green, gray and black, and black or khaki approved bottoms, with blue jeans allowed on certain days.

“We already bought the black pants, so we have to buy again, the pants,” parent Fabiola Flores told local KFOX. “They should ask. They [should] do like a ‘Hey, what do you think?’ Like, ‘We’re thinking about it!’”

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The district admitted to the local station that the announcement could have been made differently, but explained it is a result of concerns brought forward by parents and teachers who are a part of the campus improvement team.

While EPISD schools are allowed to create their own dress code, parents across the U.S. may struggle with availability and pay out of pocket for them, SmartAsset Financial Advisors says. 

Charles Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8, has a student population of nearly 600, according to U.S. News. Of them, 87% are considered “economically disadvantaged.”

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School begins at Charles Middle School on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, but students will not be allowed to wear all-black clothing. (KFOX)

At least one parent says the color change may be beneficial.

“It brings down, I think, the mood of the school, if it’s just black,” parent Nancy Rangel-Gomez told KVIA-TV.

Students at Charles Middle School will be allowed to wear black shorts for physical education and the color can be worn on “free dress day,” El Paso Teachers Association President Norma De La Rosa told KFOX. She also recommends parents read the school’s dress code in its entirety to avoid any confusion.

The letter sent to parents from Charles Middle School Principal Nick DeSantis. (KFOX)

A mental health professional told KFOX that depression does not “have colors” or “outfits.” Rather, she said there are other signs to look out for in students.

EPISD Executive Principal Sarah Venegas told KFOX the district would love to have mental health professionals be a part of decision-making committees. 

EPISD has not yet responded to a Fox News Digital request for comment, but a recent community message from the district’s superintendent, Diana Sayavedra, acknowledged that “dress code policies have recently garnered community attention at a couple of schools.”

“We see this as a valuable opportunity to foster a healthy engagement with the community in an effort to land on the values we share about safety and the success of students,” Sayavedra continued. “We are committed to continuing this dialogue to strengthen our collaboration.”

Astronaut, author and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., appeared to be a top contender as Vice President Kamala Harris’ Democratic running mate pick at least as of Monday morning — and if he were yet to be picked, could bring a dramatic life story to the ticket.

Harris is aiming to defeat Republican former President Donald Trump and his vice-presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, in the race to take the Oval Office.

Kelly enjoyed the triumph of rocketing into space four times as a NASA astronaut — and also suffered gut-wrenching tragedy when his wife, former Arizona U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, was shot in the head in a 2011 assassination attempt. 

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He shared details of his life as an author of two books written with Giffords (he’s also the author of four astronaut-themed children’s books). 

“Whether it was from my time in the Navy and at NASA, serving in the United States Senate, or visiting our troops overseas: I’ve learned that when your country asks you to serve, you always answer the call,” Kelly posted to X on Sunday, leading many to think she could be adding him to the ticket. 

The choice of picks appeared to be narrowing down quickly on Monday. 

Kelly was born in New Jersey in 1964. 

He flew 39 missions as a U.S. Navy aviator during the Gulf War, and served aboard four space shuttle missions, two as commander of the spacecraft. 

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He defeated Republican incumbent Martha McSally to win his Senate seat in 2020. 

Kelly and Giffords married on Nov. 10, 2007. She was nearly murdered little more than three years later, on Jan. 6, 2011, while greeting constituents in Tucson, Arizona. 

Commander Mark Kelly, right, is assisted by United Space Alliance suit technician Andre Denard prior to the April 2011 launch of space shuttle Endeavour. (NASA via Getty Images)

“Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope,” released at the end of 2011, chronicled their journey together before and then after the tragedy, which ended Giffords’ political career.

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“Gabby always loved playing with my wedding ring,” Kelly writes. “At almost every meal, she’d slip the ring off my finger and move it from her thumb to her forefinger to her middle finger. It was her little ritual, her way of fidgeting.”

“Her eyes remained closed, tubes were everywhere …”

That ritual proved the first sign of hope as she lay unconscious five days after she was nearly killed. 

“Suddenly, as she held my hand … she actually pulled the ring off and began to move it around in her fingers, just like always … Her eyes remained closed, tubes were everywhere, but she was somehow able to direct the fingers of her one good hand to rediscover her old pastime.”

He added, “I was more than surprised. I was overwhelmed.”

Gabby Giffords, former representative from Arizona, left, and Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, in Statuary Hall ahead of a State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, March 7, 2024.  (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Just four months after his wife was nearly murdered, Kelly was “awaiting the last launch of the space shuttle Endeavour.”

Kelly was the commander of the spacecraft, which proved to be the last mission into space for both the Endeavour and for Kelly. 

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Kelly and Giffords tackled the experience from a more politically entangled in “Enough: Our Fight to Keep America Safe from Gun Violence,” which they co-authored with Harry Jaffe in 2014.

Sen. Mark Kelly and Vice President Kamala Harris. Kelly was considered a finalist as a vice presidential pick for the 2024 Democratic ticket.  (Getty Images)

The book is framed, of course, by the horrific shooting in Tucson, when a man unleashed a torrent of bullets from a handgun. 

Giffords survived. But six people were killed and 15 others were wounded.

“Gabby and I fear the country has veered off course when it comes to one important issue: how we relate to guns,” the couple wrote in the book.

“A basic freedom that both Gabby and I wholeheartedly embrace, the right to bear arms, has become radicalized.”