MARYSVILLE – A Marysville mother who was asked to leave her daughter’s school because of her tank top says she will continue to defy a parental dress code that she says goes overboard.
Jessica Allen, 27, said she supports the need for student dress codes, but was shocked when Pinewood Elementary School principal Breeze Williams questioned her outfit on Wednesday.
Allen wore jeans, sandals and a white cotton tank top when she arrived at the school office to pick up her second-grade daughter. The tank top was open in the back and had string ties. Dan Bates / The Herald
“If I had thought what I was wearing was inappropriate, I never would have worn it,” Allen said. “That’s embarrassing to (my daughter).”
The top didn’t conform to the student dress code, which also applies to staff and parents, said Gail Miller, assistant superintendent for the Marysville School District.
Parents and staff at the school several years ago decided to extend the dress code to adults, Miller said. Pinewood is the only school in the district that has a dress code for parents, she said.
“It was all in the spirit of … ‘Do as I do and not as I say,’ that old adage,” Miller said.
The dress code states: “Bare midriffs, halter tops, spaghetti straps and tank tops are not allowed.”
Allen said she wears tank tops just about every day she is not working, and questioned the principal’s priorities.
“She shouldn’t be worried about what parents are wearing, she should be worried about the students,” Allen said.
“The school is trying to tell a parent how to dress, and that’s out of line,” said Shannon Knight, a friend of Allen who was in the office at the time.
Williams said the policy has been in place for seven or eight years , but this is the first year she has had to mention it to a parent.
At the time the policy was adopted, several schools in the district were considering requiring school uniforms. None did, but parents from Pinewood felt their school should have a strong dress code, said Williams, who was Pinewood’s principal at the time.
“Everybody would draw a line somewhere,” Williams said. “This is where that group of people decided to draw the line.”
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