A school district in Mississippi recently changed its dress code for students, banning transgender girls from wearing skirts and requiring students to dress "consistent with their biological sex."
Last month, the Harrison Central High School in the Harrison County School District issued a new student handbook for the 2023-2024 school year, which included changes to its dress code.
"Boys and girls must follow the dress attire consistent with their biological sex that is stated in the student's cumulative folder and permanent record the School District prepared under the guidelines of the Mississippi Department of Education Manual of Directions," the updated student handbook said. The SunHerald, which first reported the updated handbook, noted that students' permanent records include their birth certificates.
The updated handbook differs from last year's, which did not mention any rules associated with students being required to wear clothes consistent with their gender assigned at birth.
Earlier this year, the Harrison County School District made headlines after a transgender girl filed a lawsuit against the district after she was informed that she would be required to follow the male dress code in order to attend graduation.
The student, a transgender girl, was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the lawsuit alleged that the district was discriminating against her by requiring her to wear certain clothes to attend graduation.
According to the Associated Press (AP), lawyers for the school district argued that the student, identified in the lawsuit as L.B., attending graduation is not a constitutionally protected right and instead voluntary. The judge overseeing the case eventually sided with the district and the student skipped her graduation and instead attended a Trans Prom in Washington, D.C.
"We deserve rights as humans," L.B. told AP in May. "And I feel like there's definitely a stigma towards our community. ... It's very disappointing."
The student's parents also spoke with AP, saying that they "100 percent" support their child's decisions.
"We both are very proud of her for being as confident as she is, and being willing to stand up and speak out for those that are afraid to speak out for themselves," her mother told AP in May. "She is the most compassionate, caring—I mean, she is a beautiful person inside and out. And we will continue ... as long as we have to, to make sure that her story is heard."
Newsweek reached out to the Harris County School District on Wednesday via email for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
