Mississippi school district’s new dress code will force trans kids to dress as gender assigned at birth
Transgender students who attend Harrison County schools must dress according to the gender they were assigned at birth, the School District says in a recently modified dress code.
The change follows a School District decision that captured national headlines in the spring, when a transgender student filed a lawsuit and ultimately skipped graduation because the district forbade her to wear a dress even though she identifies as female. The student, identified in the federal lawsuit as L.B., had been dressing as a girl throughout her time in high school.
The district has now doubled down, saying in its policy manual for grades 7-12: “Boys and girls must follow the dress attire consistent with their biological sex that is stated in the student’s cumulative folder and permanent record the School District . . . “ The permanent record in student files includes birth certificates.
The previous dress code did not contain that provision. The new dress code also says specifically what “boys” and “girls” are allowed to wear, while the previous dress code did not differentiate between clothing for boys and girls.
A review of dress codes for other Coast school districts shows Harrison County is the only district that singles out transgender students.
MS limits transgender rights
The policy mirrors the political climate in Mississippi, where the Legislature in 2023 passed a law that bans gender-affirming care for anyone under age 18. The law went into effect when Gov. Tate Reeves signed it in February, forcing parents to seek care for their transgender children in other states.
The School District’s public relations specialist, Trang Pham-Bui, referred questions about the dress code changes to Superintendent Mitchell King, who was not immediately available to comment Monday. King had still not responded to the Sun Herald’s questions, sent by email at Pham-Bui’s request, by Tuesday afternoon.
According to agendas of the district’s School Board, student handbooks that include dress codes were adopted in July. Rules on dress have increased from 23 items to 26, with the new rules for boys, girls and sex assigned at birth are listed as the first three items.
Students return to school Friday, Aug. 4. On July 26, Harrison Central High School’s Facebook page featured a post notifying parents and students that they should review changes to the Secondary Student Handbook, which included the new rule that students must dress according to the sex they were assigned at birth.
This story was originally published July 31, 2023 at 10:21 AM.
