EQFL
Hillsborough County Action Alert
PLEASE CONTACT THE HILLSBORUOGH COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD and
SUPERINTENDENT
Earl J. Lennard, Superintendent
Email Director of
Public Affairs: Mark.Hart@sdhc.k12.fl.us
813-272-4000
Email all School Board Members:
School-Board-Members@SDHC.K12.FL.US
School District of Hillsborough County
901 E. Kennedy
Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33602
813-272-4055
FAX 813-272-4604
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Nikki Youngblood Litigation against Hillsborough Co. School
Board
History:
Last year, the National Center for
Lesbian Rights and Equality
Florida filed suit on behalf of
Robinson High School Senior Nikki Youngblood
against the Hillsborough
County School District. The suit alleged that the
schoolıs senior
portrait policy, which required all female students to wear
an
ultra-feminine scoop neck drape for their senior portraits,
while
allowing male students to wear a white shirt, jacket and tie of
their
choosing, was illegal. School officials repeatedly refused
requests by Nikki
and her mother to permit Nikki to wear something less
stereotypically
feminine. As a result, Nikkiıs picture did not
appear in the High School
yearbook alongside those of her classmates;
in fact, there was not even a
blank space at least listing her name, as
is customarily done for students
who are unable to be photographed for
some reason. Nikki filed suit to
ensure that future students do
not have to endure this type of painful and
humiliating discrimination,
simply because they do not fit gender
stereotypes.
Legal Summary:
Nikkiıs attorneys feel confident
that the case will be reversed on appeal
because they believe Judge
Bucklew applied the wrong legal standard
rational basis review,
instead of the heightened scrutiny required for cases
involving
allegations of gender discrimination. In applying the
lower
standard, Judge Bucklew relied on a 30 year old case from the
former Fifth
Circuit which did NOT involve a claim of sex
discrimination. The U.S.
Supreme Court has held that "[p]arties
who seek to defend gender-based
government action must demonstrate an
exceedingly persuasive justification
for that action," United States v.
Virginia, 518 U.S. 515,531(1996).
Nikkiıs attorneys believe that the
school district cannot demonstrate an
"exceedingly persuasive
justification" for requiring female students to wear
an ultra-feminine
scoop neck costume that forces them to expose portions of
their body,
while permitting male students to dress in professional business
attire
of their choosing, so long as it includes a white shirt, dark tie
and
jacket. It is simply the schoolıs effort to force all female
students to
fit the image of what it believes female students "should"
look like.
Coalition
Position:
- We do not believe the school board should spend
tens of thousands of
dollars of taxpayer money defending an antiquated policy that
has been
widely lampooned by local, state, and national
media.
- Dress code policies are appropriate and we are
not asking that they be
repealed. It is appropriate to require, for example, that
students wear
"professional attire" for their senior portraits or under
their graduation
gowns. It is not appropriate, however, to
require female students to wear
what is in essence a costume which has
no usage in everyday life, while
permitting male students to wear
standard professional attire.
- The policy requiring female students to wear a
scoop neck drape is out of
step with the times and should be changed regardless of the
outcome of any
litigation.
- The school board must create a district wide
policy requiring all schools
in the district to eliminate gender specific dress code
policies including
senior portrait policies and graduation
policies that require female
students to wear a skirt or
dress.
- Gender specific dress code
policies:
-
serve no useful purpose;
- reinforce gender
stereotypes that are limiting and harmful for all
students;
and
cause serious emotional harm for students like
Nikki and other gender
non-conforming students.
Response to argument that changing policy will permit boys
to wear dresses
- School administrators already have the right to
prevent students from
wearing certain clothing for the purpose of
disruption. For example, if a
football player wanted to wear a
dress for his senior portrait in order to
create a disruption (as
opposed to a transgender boy who feels more
comfortable dressing and
living as a girl), the school can take action to
prevent that student
from appearing in the yearbook wearing the
disruptive
attire.
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Please personalize this
sample letter and/or generate a letter automatic letter from our Equality
Florida
web page at www.eqfl.org
):
Dear Superintendent Lennard
(and/or Hillsborough County School Board member):
I am writing to
urge you to eliminates gender bias in the Hillsborough school dress codes
particularly when it comes to senior portraits.
Dress code policies
are appropriate and I'm not suggesting that they be repealed. It is
appropriate to require, for example, that students wear "professional
attire" for their senior portraits or under their graduation gowns.
It is NOT appropriate, however, to require female students
to wear what is in essence a costume which has no usage in everyday life,
while permitting male students to wear standard professional
attire.
The school board should NOT spend tens of thousands of
dollars of taxpayer money defending an antiquated policy that has become a
national embarrassment.
The policy requiring female students to
wear a scoop neck drape is out of step with the times and should be
changed regardless of the outcome of any litigation.
The school
board must create a district wide policy requiring all schools in the
district to eliminate gender specific dress code policies including
senior portrait policies and graduation policies that require female
students to wear a skirt or dress.
I look forward to your personal
response.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Address