Teenage Girl's Punishment for Violating School Dress Code Slammed by Mom as 'Clear Violation' of Her Privacy Rights

The mother of a 15-year-old Florida high school student says her daughter was forced to wear a "shame suit" after unintentionally violating the school dress code policy.

A high school student's mother said her daughter was forced to wear a "shame suit" after violating the school dress code. (Image source: Dianna Larkin via WLTV)

According to WLTV, student Miranda Larkin was wearing a black skirt which fell a few inches above her knee when a school administrator confronted her.

"She just points at me from across the hall, and says your skirt is too short," the 15-year-old said.

That's when the teacher sent her to the school nurse who said she had to change into another outfit. The new outfit was a neon colored shirt with the words "DRESS CODE VIOLATION" printed in bold letters. That shirt was accompanied by a pair of bright red sweat pants.

"She put on the outfit in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror and just broke down. She started sobbing and broke out in hives," the student's mother, Dianna Larkin, told WLTV.

"I feel that by putting a kid in an outfit that says what they did wrong across their chest and down their leg is taking their private records and making them public and that's a clear violation of their privacy rights," she added.

[sharequote align="center"]"...that's a clear violation of their privacy rights."[/sharequote]

A school district spokesperson told WLTV that students are given the option to either wear the outfit or face in-school suspension.

The 15-year-old, however, said she was only presented one option. She was later allowed to leave school early without suspension.

Despite this, the mom said she plans to file a complaint alleging the punishment violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act because it publicized her daughter's discipline.

A school board attorney disagreed, contending to WLTV that the disciplinary action "is not displaying a discipline record to the public."

—

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter