Middle-school students in Liberty County have been wearing navy-blue shirts for years, though blue technically was not an option in the dress code.

But the Liberty County Board of Education on Tuesday approved a modification that gives middle-school students permission to keep wearing navy.

When the dress codes were adopted in 2007, middle and elementary schools abided by the same shirt-color regulations, which allowed students to wear white, navy or a school-color shirt, according to title programs facilitator Harley Grove.

The next year, however, the middle schools requested to be governed by high-school codes, which called for only white or school-color shirts.

“However, somehow that didn’t click, and they continued to allow students to wear white and navy blue and a school color,” Grove said.

“It was brought to our attention Monday that they were still continuing that procedure, and so we indicated to them that they either had to be approved by the board or they had to go back and tell children and parents that they couldn’t wear the navy blue, so we’re taking the lesser of two evils here,” Grove said.

The change does not apply to high school because administrators did not request it, Grove added.

Board Chairwoman Lily Baker and present members unanimously approved the change. Board member Carol Guyett was not present.

The board also approved a furniture purchase for the Performing Arts Center from VIP Office & Supply through a statewide contract award. The amount authorized is not to exceed $75,500, though Assistant Superintendent Jason Rogers said he anticipates further discounts after negotiation.

Deputy Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Conley updated the board on ongoing capital projects and said Tuesday that the Liberty College & Career Academy had received the certificate of occupancy and that Bradwell Institute renovations were nearly complete.