Outcry after sweltering Florida city bans schoolgirls from wearing LEGGINGS

A Florida school district has sparked outrage among parents after it recently adopted a dress code policy forbidding girls from wearing leggings. 

On July 20, Hillsborough County Public Schools, which covers the Tampa Bay area, introduced the new policy, which forbids spandex or leggings 'unless worn as an undergarment or covered by clothing that extends to at least mid-thigh.' 

That means girls in middle school and high school will not be allowed to wear leggings unless they are under an oversized shirt or sweater that reaches above their knees.

The new policy came as a surprise to parents, who were frustrated at its introduction shortly before the school year is set to begin on August 10. 

Oleg Martens, a father of two girls, organized a petition against the policy that has garnered nearly 2,200 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon. 

'I find this rule particularly personal as it targets female students disproportionately,' Martens wrote in the petition, adding that it appears to violate a different Hillsborough County Public Schools Policy. 

According to the father, that violated policy states: 'Dress code expectations shall be applied equally to all students and will not be enforced differently based on a student’s body type, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, or any other protected characteristic.' 

Towards the end of the petition, he wrote: 'Let us send a strong message to the Hillsborough County Schools Board that this decision must be reversed.' 

In addition to the petition, the Hillsborough County school board received 'an onslaught of emails' from outraged parents, board member Jessica Vaughn told the Tampa Bay Times.

As a result, the board voted to try to amend the dress code at its next meeting. She said she agreed with the emails that said the new policy seems discriminatory towards women. 

'I think it’s important to be responsive to the public when we get these things,' Vaughn said.

Chief of Schools Rick Grayes said the policy change resulted from conversations with middle and high school students, who he said 'brought up their concerns' about leggings when it came to the topic of dress codes. 

But many parents questioned if that was the case and where the concerns came from.

Martens, the father who organized the petition, told the Tampa Bay Times that he and other parents want to know 'what data was used, what peer review studies, what empirical data was used' when establishing the new policy. 

Morgan Thomas, the mother of a seventh and tenth grader, told the outlet that students already contend with restrictive dress codes and have adopted wearing leggings in response to existing restrictions around wearing shorts. 

'We want to make these kids dress in something that’s totally impractical for the weather, and so they’ve gone to wearing leggings as an alternative, which covers all of the skin,' Thomas said. 

'Now they’re saying, "Oh, well, that’s not good enough, now you basically have to wear your father’s oversized T-shirt over your leggings, too,"' the mother added. 

Whitney Brewer, a mother with three daughters in the school system, told the Tampa Bay Times that to her, the new policy even comes across as 'weird, icky almost.' 

She said she has seen people say that they would not want to have male teachers or students in classrooms where girls are wearing leggings or other skin-tight clothing. 

'Why are we even thinking about that?' Brewer asked. 'Maybe they shouldn’t be teaching if this is a problem… Maybe we teach our sons to focus on school and not worry so much about a girl wearing workout pants and a T-shirt.' 

The school board will vote on whether to amend the new policy next Tuesday, just six days before the beginning of the school year.