Skirts STILL (Dresses) Not Required

In June 2022, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision struck down a North Carolina charter school's dress code requirement that female students wear skirts, skorts, or jumpers. This week, the Supreme Court let that decision stand.

In Peltier v. Charter Day School Inc.,  the Fourth Circuit determined that the charter school, which receives 95% of its funding from federal, state, and local governments, is a state actor and thereby subject to the Constitution. The panel concluded that the gender-specific dress code violated the Equal Protection Clause and may violate Title IV of the Education Amendments of 1972.

The school founder defended the skirt requirement as forwarding traditional values, chivalry, and respect. "Chivalry, the school founder said, is a code of conduct in which women are 'regarded as a fragile vessel that men are supposed to take care of and honor.'"