Lifestyle

This Dress Code For Teachers Has The Internet Debating

by Mike Julianelle

A Georgia superintendent sent an email to teachers that listed capri pants as inappropriate attire

How short is too short?

Keep in mind we’re not talking about skirts, or even a crop top. We’re talking about pants. And the superintendent of one Georgia school things pants that show female teachers’ calves are not okay.

According to NBC affiliate WXIA in Georgia, local superintendent Trent North sent an email to teachers in the Douglas Country school district informing them that a variety of different items of clothing were “not appropriate for work.”

The items he singled out include “jeans (except on Fridays), flip flops, sneakers, leggings (except when worn with an appropriate length dress), shorts and Capris.”

The item that is drawing the most attention is that last one. The superintendent insisted to WXIA that it’s not a ban, just “an expectation,” and whether or not the pants meet muster depends on where they fall. “A longer version of shorts, it isn’t business. It isn’t professional,” North told the station. “If a teacher comes into the building with pants just above the ankle, no one is going to say a word.”

Did we mention that the school district is in Georgia? And that it’s August?

Many teachers are unhappy with the superintendent’s email, especially considering that North has only been on the job for a few months and is focusing on something as minor as dress code.

“I think it’s utterly ridiculous,” responded one man with family members employed in the school system. “Is the teacher wearing khakis going to improve test scores? Is it going to improve funding,” he asked WXIA. “I don’t think so.”

It’s not just the teachers and their families that are reacting to Superintendent North’s dress code. You better believe the internet had things to say, especially once the Today Show shared the story.

One reader feels like teachers simply can’t catch a break:

Others wondered about priorities:

And some just got practical:

Of course, not everyone had a problem with it:

Regardless of how you feel about Capris, it’s safe to say that the superintendent who sent that email started his school year off on the wrong calf.