School dress-code controversies have been trending on the web in recent months, fanning a controversy

over whether schools are enforcing the rules in ways that discriminate against girls.

In one of the latest episodes, a viral video initially meant to instruct students on the dress-code policy at
Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas, drew intense criticism last month for depicting only girls as
rule violators. In St. Louis, Oakville High School’s principal is captured on video apologizing to parents
after telling female students they should not show off their bodies for fear of “distracting” male
classmates. And a Roman Catholic school in New Orleans came into the internet spotlight when a 6th
grader was forced to leave the classroom, in tears, for having braided hair extensions, which were
against the school’s hair policy.

Schools with strict dress codes often claim that such regulations prevent in-class distractions, create a
workplace-like environment, reduce pressures based on socioeconomic status, and deter gang activity.
However, in an age of #MeToo and easy internet access, controversy is increasingly cropping up over
whether excluding students from the classroom for violating dress codes is worthwhile, and whether
such rules are disproportionately enforced against girls, and especially those of color.

The website Change.org now says it’s hosting more than 400 open petitions against individual school
dress codes. The majority have been created by students, and many of the petitions’ titles assert that
their schools’ dress codes are sexist or unfairly enforced.

“These rules aren’t neutral: many target girls, and especially black girls, by regulating skirt length and
headwraps,” a report on school dress codes in the District of Columbia that was compiled by the
National Women’s Law Center states. “And the rules aren’t applied equally, either. Students report that
black girls, and especially curvier students, are disproportionately targeted.”

Lost Learning Time

Nationwide, 53 percent of public schools enforced a strict dress code during the 2015-16 school year,
according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But, data on who’s being punished for dress-
code violations and how the penalties are being meted out are harder to come by. The study by the
NWLC takes a rare quantifiable look at the issue.

Released in April, it examines the experiences of 21 black girls who attend or attended 12 District of
Columbia schools, including charter schools, and analyzes districtwide student-discipline data.

In the one-on-one interviews, all of the girls reported experiencing or witnessing dress-code
enforcement in their schools. Common punishments for those violations included missing class time or
facing suspension, as a result of hair, makeup, or clothing styles that were deemed inappropriate. Since
the report’s release, two of the schools have made changes to their dress policies.

"[Dress codes] sit at that intersection where they impact girls differently; they impact black girls
differently,” said Nia Evans, the NWLC’s manager of campaign and digital strategies and education. “And
when you add discipline to it, it’s really a disaster.”

The concern is that students who may already be struggling academically fall farther behind in class
when they miss too much time serving suspensions, changing clothes, or waiting while administrators
measure their skirt lengths. Nationwide, African-American girls are 5.5 times more likely than their white
counterparts to be suspended from school, but it’s not clear what proportion of those punishments
stem from dress-code issues.