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The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 10-6 that Charter
Day School violated three female students' equal protection
rights by adopting the skirts policy based on gender stereotypes
about the "proper place" for girls in society.
The school implemented a dress code that its founder,
businessman Baker Mitchell, in an email and testimony said would
"preserve chivalry" and ensure girls are treated "courteously
and more gently than boys."
The state-funded school in Brunswick County argued the Equal
Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment did
not apply to it because it was a private entity, not a "state
actor."
But U.S. Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan said it was one
since North Carolina delegated to it its duty to provide free,
universal education to students. A contrary ruling would mean
North Carolina could ignore "blatant" discrimination, she said.
The Richmond, Virginia-based court also allowed the students to
pursue a claim under Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex
discrimination in federally-funded education.
The ruling "is a victory for North Carolina’s students attending
public charter schools, and should put charter schools across
the country on notice that they must follow the same rules as
traditional public schools when it comes to guaranteeing
students’ equal educational opportunities," said Galen Sherwin,
the students' lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union.
Aaron Streett, the school's attorney, called the ruling
"mistaken and harmful," saying it contradicted U.S. Supreme
Court precedent and "limits the ability of parents to choose the
best education for their children."
The six dissenting votes were all from Republican-appointed
judges.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia
Garamfalvi and Aurora Ellis)
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