Florida moms started a petition on Friday to change Pacetti Bay Middle School’s dress code after controversy over the treatment of girls at the school. This St. Augustine school and St. Johns County Schools are being called on to change their “discriminatory” dress code, according to The St. Augustine Record.
Michele Faris is the mother of an eight grade student in the district, and she clarified her intentions to The St. Augustine Record. “Our thought process is we want the school district to revisit this policy and make sure it is not discriminatory towards any group, like it is against the girls currently,” said Faris.
The petition on Change.org includes an example of an outfit flagged by Pacetti Bay Middle School administration. The petition states the female students have been “removed from their learning environment, publicly shamed, and have to sit in in-school detention until a parent can bring a change of clothes,” and if the parent cannot come, the student will be in detention until the school day ends.
The petition has been signed by over 1,700 people, and the mother of the young girl featured in the above photo has spoken out about her experience. While she stayed anonymous to protect her daughter’s identity, she told The St. Augustine Record that the schools “need to take a look at what they are policing and ask, is it fair and is it right.”
The senior director of School Services for the district, Paul Abbatinozzi, stood by the dress code. He told The St. Augustine Record that “The faculty is not there to embarrass someone, they try to consistently stay in the guidelines so they can focus on teaching and learning.”
Dress codes across the country have been widely criticized their focus on covering up female bodies with very little regard for what male students are wearing.