Lawsuit Claiming Unaffordable Dress Code Dismissed

A federal judge in South Dakota dismissed a lawsuit over the imposition of a dress code to some students in the Cheyenne-Eagle Butte School District.

The Cheyenne River Sioux tribal council filed the suit after several parents complained that they couldn't afford the clothing the new dress code required their children wear, The Associated Press reports. The regulations expected that students wear shirts, pants, skirts or shorts that were black, white or tan.

School officials explained that the dress code was intended to curb gang-related behavior problems - a goal they claim the new rules have already helped to achieve. The school district only applied the dress code to kindergarten students and students in the 7th and 8th grade.

U.S. District Judge Charles Kornmann dismissed the case after hearing that the Cheyenne River Sioux tribal council had withdrawn its support. The Associated Press reports that two parents said they are likely to file a new claim.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and Wyoming Area School District are experimenting with dress code policies of their own, and so far have not met any legal resistance.