School districts often have gender-based dress codes that outline specific requirements for students, such as requiring female students to wear certain skirt lengths or prohibiting male students from wearing muscle shirts. In late 2022, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on school dress codes, revealing multiple findings about the disproportionate impact of dress codes on girls and minorities.
The GAO estimates that of the 93% of school districts that have some form of dress code or policy, over 90% have rules prohibiting female students from dressing up. Recommendations in the GAO report included a directive that the U.S. Secretary of Education should provide resources to help school districts and schools develop equitable dress codes. Some school districts are taking steps to address school dress code policies to make them more inclusive for all students by noting that students can wear clothing that matches their self-identified gender. has already been taught.
In a recent decision, the Fourth Circuit also addressed the applicability of Title IX to school dress codes. Pelletier vs Charter Day School (4th Cir. 2022). In that case, the dress code for public charter schools required girls to wear skirts to school and boys to wear shorts or trousers. A kindergarten girl’s mom challenged the skirt requirement.the court of Peltier It held that “Title IX clearly applies to gender-based dress codes.” This example illustrates the challenges school districts can face with dress codes that have gender-specific requirements for students.
In June 2021, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued an Interpretation Notice explaining that Title IX’s prohibition against discrimination based on gender extends to discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The US Department of Education’s June 2022 draft Title IX rule proposed to include discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation within the scope of Title IX sex discrimination. The proposed rule could require significant changes to many school dress codes.
what this means for you
School dress codes will undoubtedly continue to be a hot topic in education as schools review recent court decisions and new Title IX regulations and update their policies to reflect the new requirements.
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