School Forces Teen to Wear "Shame Suit" After Violating Dress Code

What's the proper punishment for a student violating a school's dress code? How about making them wear a neon yellow shirt and bright red sweatpants with the words "DRESS CODE VIOLATION" written across them? That's exactly what Orange Leaf, FL-based Oakleaf High School made 15-year-old Miranda Larkin do on the third day of school when she arrived wearing a black skirt about three to four inches above her knees. A new student at the school (the family recently moved there from Seattle), Larkin did not know about the dress code and was given no warnings.

According to her mom, "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." Aside from her daughter being humiliated, the mom now feels that the school's actions — making her daughter wear clothes that stated her transgression — violated her privacy.

"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," Diana Larkin says. "That's a clear violation of their privacy rights." The family is filing a complaint with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as the school district stands by its decision. Front Page