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RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia high school student said she was asked by a teacher to cover up a lesbian-themed shirt or face suspension. Bethany Laccone, 17, said she was asked to cloak a logo of two interlocked female symbols while attending a class this month at I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth. She's a full-time senior at nearby Woodrow Wilson High School, where she has not faced a similar ultimatum. In a letter sent Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia asked Norcom administrators to remove any mention of the incident from Laccone's records and agree not to...

(12-14) 17:53 PST NAPA VALLEY -- A Napa Valley middle school's decision to bar a child from class last winter for wearing a pair of Tigger socks has proved costly. The Napa Valley Unified School District is on the hook for at least $95,000 in lawyers' fees under a legal settlement announced Thursday between the district and five Napa families who challenged the school's dress code. That's enough to pay the salaries of two teachers for a year, but it's only about a quarter of what the district would have had to pay if it went on to lose the...

Tax Collector Mike Olson says the office worker was told not to do it. LAND O'LAKES - Lauren Mixon said she wanted to sparkle - but just a little bit. She wanted to get her nose pierced with a tiny diamond. She checked the dress code at work. It discouraged "extreme" jewelry. She checked with her supervisor. The answer, Mixon said: "It wouldn't be in my best interests." Now some may interpret that one way. Mixon's own interpretation: no one ever said "no." So she had her nose pierced. It hurt like heck for three days. Now it really hurts....

COCOA BEACH, Fla. -- Students at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School are waging a war on peace. Recently, sophomore Skylar Stains decided to hold Peace Shirt Thursdays at the school. Skylar and her friend, Lauren Lorraine, started wearing peace shirts and soon recruited more friends to wear them. Now, the "Peace Shirt Coalition" as they call themselves, has close to 30 students from all grades. "We've worn handmade peace shirts every Thursday since the first week of school, without fail," Skylar said. But what started out as a light-hearted gesture soon started to be taken out of context. Students started...

A Texas high school sophomore's parents might sue after the school booted the student from campus for wearing a John Edwards for 2008 president T-shirt. Pete Palmer, a sophomore at Waxahachie High School, says he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong wearing the political shirt to school. But according to the Waxahachie Independent School District dress code, students can't wear shirts with political slogans. “T-shirts, other than WISD clubs, organizations, sports, or spirit t-shirts, college or university t-shirts or solid-colored t-shirts, are prohibited," according to the policy.

More than seven years ago, the subject of the Confederate flag came up at Central York High School. A student originally from Georgia had apparently worn clothing bearing the battle flag of the Confederacy to school, causing problems with some other students who objected. So in March 2000, the school banned Confederate flag from the school, reasoning that its display had a disruptive effect on the education process. There was no legal challenge to the ban. Had there been, it's likely it would have failed. (snip) The ban was imposed after a disturbance in the Susquehannock High School parking lot...

SAMPSON COUNTY, N.C. – On the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, students at one high school were not allowed to wear clothes with an American flag. Under a new school rule, students at Hobbton High School are not allowed to wear items with flags, from any country, including the United States.

Thanks to pressure from the right and left...the nonsense ends! SAMPSON COUNTY, N.C – A North Carolina High School that came under national attention over their rule that prohibited students from wearing items with the American flag, or any flag from other countries, has lifted the ban. Superintendent Dr. L. Stewart Hobbs, Jr said they have lifted the ban on flags and “from this point on, all dress code changes will be made at the school board level.” But before I finish eating my hat...I get this mixed bag email. I just received a return call from Dr. Hobbs, the...

SYDNEY (AFP) - There was a time when wearing sunglasses would have been seen as too cool for school, but for pupils at a pioneering primary in Australia they are now a compulsory part of the uniform. The move is aimed at protecting young eyes from the sun's dangerous ultraviolet rays, and education authorities say they are considering adopting the plan at all state schools. The headmaster of Sydney's Arncliffe Public School, where sunglasses are now compulsory for children from kindergarten through Year 6, said they had no problems wearing the glasses in the playground. The "sunnies" as they are...

A U.S. District Court judge has been asked to reconsider his ruling in a 2004 free speech lawsuit filed by a former Poway High School student who was prohibited by school officials from expressing his opposition to a “Day of Silence” sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. Tyler Harper, then a student at Poway High School, came to school wearing a T-shirt bearing the handwritten messages, “I will not accept what God has condemned” and “Homosexuality is shameful. Romans 1:27." School officials, claiming that Harper’s message could be disruptive, suspended him after he refused to take off...

London, England (LifeNews.com) -- A teenager in the UK is facing threats from her school for wearing a t-shirt that has a message opposing abortion. Sarah Scott, a 16 year-old who gave birth just four months ago, says the staff at Banff Academy complained when she wore a shirt with the message "Abortion is Murder” printed on it. Scott attends the Aberdeenshire, Scotland school and wore the shirt on a day when students are permitted to wear casual clothes instead of their normal uniforms. While the school maintains the shirt was offensive and threatened to kick her out if she...

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas today filed a federal lawsuit charging that the Watson Chapel school district violated students’ free speech rights by suspending students for wearing black armbands in opposition to the school uniform policy. More at: http://www.aclu.org/freespeech/youth/27038prs20061010.html

Hammond Students Were Wearing Inappropriate Clothes (AP) HAMMOND, IN -- Classrooms were a little less crowded at Morton High School on the first day of classes: One hundred and twenty-eight students were sent home for wearing the wrong clothes. Fed up with inappropriate outfits, the principal suspended the students for one day Wednesday, minutes after doors opened at the school. Those suspended represent more than 10 percent of the 1,200 total students. The offending attire -- including baggy pants, low-cut shirts, tank tops and graphic T-shirts -- are banned from classrooms. Students were also cited for cell phone use. "This...

Air Marshal Dress Code Changed Friday August 25, 2006 12:16 AM By LESLIE MILLER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Air marshals were told Thursday they will be allowed to dress the way they want and choose their own hotels in order to protect their anonymity while on missions. Federal Air Marshal Service chief Dana Brown, who has been in the job for five months, said he was changing the rules, starting Sept. 1, after listening to air marshals' concerns. In a memo to the air marshals, Brown said the dress code was changed to ``allow you to blend in...

On those rare occasions when insurance executive Tara Guizot wears a suit to her Los Angeles office, "people invariably ask me if I'm interviewing for a new job," she said. The trend toward casual dress has gone so far that Matt Smith, a 27-year-old Los Angeles lawyer, is on a quest to establish "Tie Tuesday." He would like to wear a suit to work but knows he'd be ridiculed. Instead, Smith dons a tie every Tuesday and hopes other men in his office will follow. So far, a couple have. "It's just something fun," he said. Forget casual Fridays. In...

Dallas To Consider Low Pants Ban Last Edited: Tuesday, 22 Aug 2006, 6:51 PM CDT Created: Tuesday, 22 Aug 2006, 6:08 PM CDT Some school districts ban pants like these that are low enough to expose underwear. Related Items Stories Vote Here: Baggy Pants Poll Poll Do you think baggy pants that expose underwear or skin below the hip should be banned from Dallas streets? Poll Results: Yes 86% No 14% Total number of votes: 613 It's a fashion trend that for many is a fashion faux pas: baggin' and saggin' pants. "I think it's a disgrace," said Dallas resident...

FORT WORTH — Meisha Franklin said her senior year at North Crowley High School was off to a good start until she was called into the principal's office on Thursday. "At first I thought it was my dress code, because my shirt was kind of out a little bit," she said. But the problem didn't have anything to do with what Franklin was wearing. Instead, the problem was focused on her head. Principal Trent Lovette said Meisha's hair violated the code that states no "unnatural" hair colors are allowed. <-snip-> Lovette said every day Meisha shows up at school with...

When it comes to style, most of the 535 members of Congress wear conservative suits that reflect the power on Capitol Hill. For some of their fresh-faced interns, however, skimpy tank tops, jeans, short skirts and flip-flops are the "underdressed" norm. "In what I'm wearing, you can see a lot of skin, and I've seen a lot of girls walk around maybe not buttoned up," said Erica Matson, a congressional intern. "These girls wear tight pants, too, and they think maybe they're not pushing the limit, but they are." With hopes of one day entering the political work force, as...

Female tennis players have been warned by the All England Club that revealing skirts will not be tolerated at this year's Wimbledon tournament. The tournament that began Monday and runs through July 9 has a history of being one of the most conservative in the world, Sky News reported. "Any competitor who appears on court dressed in a manner which is deemed unsuitable by the committee will be liable to be defaulted," the club reminded arriving players. Russian Maria Sharapova, who won the women's singles title in 2004 at age 17 turned many heads at the Australian Open this year...

Are flip-flops damaging your career? Thu Jun 29, 2006 8:47 AM ET By Belinda Goldsmith NEW YORK (Reuters) - With more women wearing flip-flops to the office this summer, U.S. style gurus are warning that the casual shoe once mainly seen on the beach could be damaging to careers -- as well as to feet. Lauren Cardinale, 25, who works at West Glen Communications, wears beaded or other fancy flip flops to the office -- when she can get away with it. "Occasionally I wear flip flops to work," she said. "I wear nicer shoes if I'm meeting with clients...