A 17-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly forced her to kneel down by her headmaster so he could measure her dress.
Amanda Durbin, a student at Edmonson County High School in Kentucky, chose to wear a red and black jumper dress, measuring five inches above the knee, with leggings to classes last week, WBKO reports.
She was called to the headmaster’s office after the dress was thought to be too revealing where, Miss Durbin claims, she was told to kneel on the ground so her headmaster could measure how far her dress fell from the floor.
The student admitted she was uncomfortable kneeling in front of Principal Tommy Hodges and requested her parents to be present.
Ms Durbin said it took her parents two hours to arrive at the school, during which time she was allegedly prohibited from attending lessons.
“I didn’t really appreciate having to get down on my knees, especially while I was in a dress,” she told BuzzFeed News. “It did make me feel a little embarrassed, a little insecure.”
Miss Durbin’s dress was initially measured at five inches – within the school code – however, when asked to walk across the room with her hands in the air and then be measured again, the dress fell at eight inches, and she was asked to go home.
Mr Hodges told WBKO everyone was aware of the school’s dress code, and many boys have been cited for ripped jeans.
“If the gap between the floor and the garment is more than six inches it’s out of dress code,” he told the station, adding that parents agree on and sign off the dress code at the beginning of the school year.
Miss Durbin said wearing the dress was a “mature protest” over what she felt was an unfair dress code at the school.
“It was kind of a protest, but it was a mature protest,” she told Buzzfeed.
Miss Durbin said she has received some disapproval from her classmates for speaking out about the incident, but says she is proud of herself for protesting.
“I’m hoping other girls will realise that you’re not some object,” she said.
