Federal judge forbids charter school from requiring girls to wear skirts

MARCH 29, 2019 / 9:12 PM / AP

A North Carolina charter school promoting traditional values engaged in unconstitutional sex discrimination by requiring girls to wear skirts, a federal judge has ruled.U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard ruled that Charter Day School can't enforce the skirts-only rule as part of its dress code that punishes violations with suspensions and even expulsion.

No child has been expelled for violating the dress code since the school opened in 2000, Howard said in a decision filed on Thursday.

But girls are clearly treated differently than boys at the kindergarten through 8th grade school in Leland, about 10 miles west of Wilmington, Howard ruled. That's a violation of the U.S. Constitution's equal protection requirements.

The guardians of three girls attending the school sued the school in 2016. They said the dress code forces girls to be colder in the winter and "forces them to pay constant attention to the positioning of their legs during class, distracting them from learning, and has led them to avoid certain activities altogether, such as climbing or playing sports during recess, all for fear of exposing their undergarments and being reprimanded by teachers or teased by boys," the judge said in summarizing the plaintiffs' arguments.

One of the mothers suing with the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of their daughters said the judge's decision means a girl's comfort and freedom to move is on par with their male classmates.

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