Dress Code Education: Boys In Skirts

What does an enterprising young man do in order to protest his New Jersey high school's "no shorts" policy? Why he wears a skirt instead:

A male high school student from Bergen County will be allowed to wear a skirt to school after the American Civil Liberties Union intervened on his behalf.

The ACLU of New Jersey announced Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with the Hasbrouck Heights School District allowing 17-year-old Michael Coviello, a high school senior, to wear the attire as a protest against the school's no-shorts policy. The district's dress code bans shorts between Oct. 1 and April 15, but allows skirts, a policy Coviello believes is discriminatory.

At first, Coviello wore a costume-style dress, and high school officials objected, telling him to go home and change. The district's superintendent then advised the Coviello to purchase everyday dresses and skirts at a retail store, which Coviello did, the ACLU said.

But after a few days, the student was sent home with a note from his principal saying if he wore a dress, kilt or skirt, he could no longer attend school.

That was when his mother contacted the ACLU, which in turn contacted the superintendent on Jan. 3. The organization protested that all students -not just girls- are entitled to wear skirts, and that Coviello's fashion statement is protected by the First Amendment.

Last week, the district agreed that Coviello could wear skirts.

"I'm happy to be able to wear skirts again to bring attention to the fact that the ban on shorts doesn't make sense," said Coviello in a statement.

The Hasbrouck Heights superintendent, Joseph C. Luongo, did not return telephone messages left Tuesday by The Associated Press.

I've got to hand it to our old buddies over at the ACLU. They don't seem to have a problem with the appointed-for-life Supreme Court Law Making Body kicking families out of their homes and giving the land to a private company for its financial gain, but they're eager to go to the wall for a boy's right to cross-dress in a public high school.

As New York's fashion week is rapidly approaching, I wonder if The Manolo would recommend these to go with that young man's "costume" dresses?

Via: Dave Berry, Tipped By: Kauai Mark ---------------------------------See this week's Carnival Of Education right here and our latest education-related posts over there.