Teen Forced To Kneel In Front Of Principal So He Could Measure Her Dress

A high school senior was pulled from class and forced to kneel in front of administrators for ‘dress code violation’

Amanda Durbin, a high school senior at Edmonson County High School was “humiliated” and “embarrassed” by the way her supposed dress code violation was handled.

According to Buzzfeed News, during her third class of the day, Durbin was sent to the principal’s office because her teacher deemed her skirt too short. When she arrived she was told by administrators that in order to discern if her dress was actually too short, she would have to kneel on the floor and have the distance between the ground and the hem of the skirt measured. Durbin refused to do this until her parents were present (good for her) and was told she couldn’t return to classes. She waited for nearly two hours in the office, missing the majority of her school day, until her parents arrived.

When her parents got to the school, they watched as she knelt on the ground and her skirt was measured. The distance between the floor and the hem of her skirt was five inches. The dress code says she is only in violation if the gap is six inches or more. So she should be in the clear, right? She even measured it herself that morning to ensure she would be in code. But no. Principal Tommy Hodges made her walk across the room with her arms above her head to see if it caused the dress to ride up. After this demoralizing charade, she had to kneel once more, the gap was now eight inches, and she was sent home.

Really? Look at her outfit.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with what she is wearing. Everything but her arms and neck are completely covered. Black tights, black boots, her butt isn’t hanging out. What exactly is the problem here? Durbin’s own mother, Alexandria, said in an interview with WBKO, “I’ve had people saying that’s something they would wear to church. If it’s appropriate for you to go to church in, why isn’t it appropriate for you to go to school in.” Good question.

Never mind the fact that a real distraction is Durbin being forced to miss most of her education that day because someone thought her dress might have been a little too short even though it wasn’t. It is not a teenage girl’s job to hide her body in shame because it may pull the eyes of a co-ed away from the blackboard and it’s absolutely disgraceful that we should put that kind of pressure onto young women.

Hodges tried to defend the case by saying that male students had also been written up for violations. Written up. Not sent home. Not forced to miss classes to change or be humiliated. Just written up.

If you want to have an outdated dress code, fine, but you need to find another way to manage it because this is the 21st-fucking-century. Women have worked hard over the last several decades so things like this don’t happen and young women don’t feel ashamed and degraded for the clothing they choose to wear, especially clothing which is more than appropriate.

Dress codes are meant to keep kids safe. This one did the opposite. The enforcement of this dress code violated this young woman’s self-esteem, her identity, and her body in a completely deplorable and archaic act. You can’t teach kids in school if they feel unsafe.

Let’s worry more about what’s being taught — both inside and outside the classroom – and less about what’s being worn.