Dress Code Drama: What's A Principal To Do?

Imagine you're a principal, walking through the crowded halls of your school. You're on your way to 11th grade chemistry, to watch a science lab. They're expecting you in two minutes.

It already feels like a long day and it's not even lunchtime. You're nearly there, 30 seconds to spare, but then — out of the corner of your eye — you see a student wearing cutoff shorts. And they're really, really short.

What should you do?

Stopping to have a disciplinary chat is probably the last thing you want to do. But, rules are rules, right?

"We don't get into the line of business that we are in because we enjoy enforcing rules," says Erik Burmeister, an assistant superintendent with the Menlo Park school district near San Francisco and a former principal himself.

"The challenge of any administrator is the urgent displacing the important," Burmeister adds. And questions about what students can and can't wear have definitely become urgent.

One big reason: A growing number of students and parents feel that dress codes are biased toward female students. And that has led to complaints and protests around the country.

More