The US Supreme Court, on Monday, declined to hear the defence by a North Carolina public charter school of its blocked requirement about the dress code which made it compulsory for the girls to wear skirts.
This uniform policy, as per the founder was created aiming at treating women like “fragile vessels.”
Dismissing the appeal by Charter Day School Inc, the justices left in place a lower court’s decision that the dress code was discriminating against students based on their gender, breaching the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment promise of equal protection under the law.
The Charter schools in North Carolina are open to attendance by all, are tuition-free and also receive state funding for each student. They are run by private, nonprofit corporations.
Dress code designed to foster ‘classroom discipline’, says school
The school said that its uniform policy was specifically designed in order to stimulate classroom discipline and “mutual respect between boys and girls.”
The school’s founder, Baker Mitchell, told parents that the policy was aimed at preserving chivalry, with women “regarded as a fragile vessel that men are supposed to take care of and honour,” according to court papers.
The complainants claimed that the skirt requirement was entrenched in gender stereotypes, breaching the 14th Amendment.
Under the school policy, the boys may wear pants or shorts.
Ria Tabacco Mar, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, who represented the three students and their parents or guardians who sued the school, lauded the court’s action.
“Girls at public charter schools have the same constitutional rights as their peers at other public schools – including the freedom to wear pants. We will continue to fight for all girls to learn in safe and equal schools,” she said.
Mitchell voiced dismay at Monday’s decision. He cautioned of ripple effects for charter schools, “threatening their autonomy, subjecting them to the same rules, regulations and political machinations that have crippled government-run school systems, and worst of all, leaving many low-income parents and students with no option other than poorly performing district schools.”
The complainants, sued under a federal law commonly known as Section 1983, allowed individuals to take state officials to court for alleged transgressions of their constitutional or statutory rights.
The school defended against the lawsuit, asserting that it is not a state actor and cannot be sued under Section 1983.
The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022 ruled that charter schools in North Carolina are state actors because they are publicly funded, their employees are considered public school employees and the state has delegated to them a duty to educate students. The 4th Circuit then found Charter Day School’s dress code unconstitutional.
The dress code that requires girls to wear skirts communicates that female students are fragile and deserve different treatment than males – “stereotypes with potentially devastating consequences for young girls,” the 4th Circuit ruling stated.
The school in its appeal said that the 4th Circuit’s ruling undermined charter schools by treating “private operators as the constitutional equivalent of government-run schools, squelching innovation and restricting parental choice.”
Asked by the Supreme Court to weigh in on whether or not to hear the case, President Joe Biden’s administration filed a brief urging the justices to deny the school’s appeal.
(With inputs from agencies)
