ACLU warns against dress code ban

SUFFOLk, Va. (WAVY) - Members of the Suffolk School Board said they aren't backing down on the issue of banning cross dressing in schools. If the ban passes, male students will not be allowed to dress in female clothing and vice versa.

Only one member at Thursday night's meeting expressed doubt about changing the dress code.

A transgendered individual also spoke out at the meeting, asking the board to reconsider the ban.

This was the first presentation for the proposal.

Before the meeting, the ACLU issued a warning to the school board to not pass the "discriminatory gender-based dress code", calling the proposed ban "unconstitutionally vague". The letter said, in part:

" To be constitutional, a policy must give clear notice of what conduct is prohibited, and must provide clear standards to the officials charged with enforcing the policy. This policy does neither. For example, some girls have been wearing neckties since the film Annie Hall, but some teachers may view it as a “male” garment. The vagueness of the policy makes it unclear to students what clothing is forbidden, and opens the door for arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement by school officials."

The ACLU said the ban would violate federal law Title IX, which prohibits educational institutions from discriminating on the basis of sex.

"In this day and age, there is simply no reason to require students to wear particular types of clothing based on their gender," ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis said. "If a student's decision not to conform to gender roles is 'distracting' to another student, the school's responsibility is to refocus the distracted student, not to reinforce gender stereotypes."

The school board believes the ban would promote student safety. Members fear cross dressing students could be easy targets for violence.

Suffolk's city attorney was present at the school board meeting and will look into the legality of the proposal.