Teenagers wearing baggy clothes must pass the new Reseda High School gravity test: If you can't keep your pants up without a belt, you can't wear them.
The fashion dictate is aimed at preventing youngsters from smuggling weapons into school."We don't know what can be underneath those baggy pants," said Principal Robert Kladifko.
Students whose pants drop when their belts are unbuckled will be sent home to change.
A 17-year-old was shot to death in February at the 2,100-student school in an ethnically mixed, middle-class section of the San Fernando Valley.
Area schools for years have banned bandannas, Los Angeles Raiders jackets and other garb associated with gangs.
Ninth-grader Gregory Quals said he would rather transfer than give up his baggy britches.
"They're trying to take away my freedom of expression," he said. "If my mom's OK with it, the school should be OK with it, too."