RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A federal judge says a North Carolina charter school promoting traditional values is engaging in unconstitutional sex discrimination by requiring girls to wear skirts.
U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard ruled Thursday that Charter Day School can’t enforce the skirts-only rule as part of its dress code since girls are clearly treated differently from boys.
The kindergarten through 8th-grade school is in Leland, 10 miles (16.1 kilometers) west of Wilmington. The school is public and funded by taxpayers, but as a charter school can draw up some of its own rules.
The guardians of three girls attending the school sued the school in 2016. They said the dress code forces girls to pay constant attention to the positioning of their legs during class and avoid playing sports during recess.