fashion

Bella Jones was dismissed from her classroom for wearing leggings because “boys can’t control themselves”.

Starting at a new school is tough. Being singled out in front of your new classmates for a reason you don’t understand makes it even tougher.

This is the situation Bella Jones found herself in, after her middle school in Lansey, Kansas decided the 11-year-old’s leggings violated the school dress code.

The Year Six student was dismissed from her classroom and sent to the office, where she was forced to put on a pair of borrowed tracksuit bottoms and told she was not allowed to call her mother to bring her a change of clothes.

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Image: Kimberly Jones/Fox4KC

After receiving a secret text from her daughter, Kimberly Jones took to Facebook in a since deleted post to complain about the incident.

"She texted me all upset sobbing that they told her not to call me and that she had to wear borrowed sweatpants all day. Their policy is that they are not allowed to change. She was begging to move because they embarrassed and harassed her," she wrote.

She stated that the outfit offered full coverage and Bella was even wearing a singlet underneath her jumper.

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Image: Screenshot/Fox4KC

"Apparently 13 year old boys can't control themselves around this. In what world is it acceptable to call out and embarrass a child over THIS outfit?" she continued.

"As I sat there waiting for the principal I saw a teacher walk by with pants so tight I could see her underwear...but this is unacceptable? Are we living in the 1900s? And am I being punked because I just cannot believe this crap is real."

While the school refused to speak to news outlets, the district spokesperson said it was Bella's shirt that was the issue.

"The nurse informed me that she measured all the way around the dress or the shirt and it wasn't the sides, in was in front and in the back where it was too short," Community Relations Coordinator Ninevah Carvan told Fox 4 Kansas City News. (Post continues after gallery.)

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However according to Jones, Bella was told it was her leggings that was the problem. This aligns with school dress code policy, which states that if it is a "shirt" violation, a replacement T-shirt will be given to the student. In this case, Bella was given tracksuit bottoms, the recommended action for when there is an issue with "shorts or pants".

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The dress code policy was updated the day after Jones' alleged violation, to include 'leggings' under the section of inappropriate "clothing that is revealing or suggestive."

Jones said that they were a military family who had recently moved to the area and had never experienced anything like it.

"My number one issue with this whole situation is one that my minor, my eleven-year-old, was told that she could not contact her mother when there was an issue," she told Fox 4 Kansas City News.
Listen: The latest episode of our honest parenting podcast This Glorious Mess. Post continues after audio.

"If I could come up as a parent and bring her a change of clothes and the clothing was no longer an issue, why in the world would you want to humiliate her all day like that?"

The spokesperson said the current strategy was in place to avoid having students out of class for too long waiting for their parents to bring a change of clothes.

"It [giving borrowed clothing] is not intended to be a punishment in any way, fashion, or form. They just want to make sure when students do have a dress code violation, that they can quickly return back to class," Carvan said.

However the school said that going forward they would ensure parents were contacted sooner if there was an issue with their child at school.

Image: Kimberly Jones/Fox4KC.