This student was forced to go home as her exposed collarbone went against the school dress code. Photo / Facebook, Stacie Dunn
A US high school student has kicked off yet another vigourous debate about dress codes.
Stacie Dunn's daughter Stephanie was recently sent to the principal's office for wearing a shirt that failed to cover her collarbone - which was a violation of the dress code at Woodford County High School.
Dunn took to Facebook to complain about the incident and posted a picture of her daughter's outfit.
"So this is my daughter at school today. I had to come to the school because according to her school principal what she is wearing is out of dress code and inappropriate for school," she wrote. "When I got there I found a group of female students standing in the office due to being out of dress code also."
She said it was "ridiculous" for the school to enforce a dress code forbidding girls from exposing their collarbones "because it may distract their male class mates".
"Parents are being called away from their important jobs and students are missing important class time because they are showing their collarbones! Something needs to change!"
Even after she brought a scarf to school for her daughter, Stephanie was still sent home when she was accused of giving the principal "an attitude".
Dunn then posted another picture of Stephanie wearing the scarf, with the caption, "What did he want her to tie it like a noose around her neck!"
Scott Hawkins, the superintendent of the school said the dress code had been in place for more than ten years.
"Our school administration has been very open with students and parents alike, that if they feel like changes need to be made, they are open to suggestions," he told TODAY.com. "It just needs to be measurable so that it can be consistently enforced."
The dress code states that shirts must have crew-neck collars that cover the collarbone.
"There's nothing magical about the collarbone itself other than that's just a point of reference, kind of like your knee would be for the length of shorts, or the length of a skirt," Hawkins said.
Dunn posted on Facebook that the principal of the school had called her to set up a meeting and said he would be willing to amend the dress code if the mother could "put together a proposed dress code that was realistic, measurable and professional that everyone, including lawyers could agree to".
"It was never my intent to 'bash' anyone, merely to draw attention to what I feel was an injustice in our school system," she said.
She added that the principal had met with a group of students about a proposed dress code change.
- nzherald.co.nz
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