Dad challenges school dress code after 13-year-old daughter punished for 'distracting boys'

LOS GATOS, Calif. — The father of a California middle school girl

after she

for violating her school’s controversial dress code.

According to KTVU, officials at Fisher Middle School in Los Gatos, near San Jose, informed 13-year-old Demetra Alarcon that the romper she wore to school recently was distracting to boys. Her father, Tony, brought her a change of clothes — jean shorts and a tank top — but school officials determined that outfit was inappropriate as well. Luckily, the father found a pair of leggings in the car as backup, but says the dress code unfairly targets girls.

"I mean, today it's 90 degrees outside, and she's wearing leggings because she doesn't want to be dress-coded for wearing shorts. And it's not OK. It needs to change," Tony Alarcon told CBS News.

He told the Mercury News: "Demetra isn't alone. Just sit in Fisher's parking lot, and you'll see that. I've heard from multiple girls that they just want to be comfortable, but they feel like they're being pushed into wearing leggings in 100-degree heat. I was told by an administrator that the girls' clothes are a distraction to the boys. That shouldn't be a concern."

While Alarcon agrees students should be dressed appropriately for school, he doesn't agree tank tops in extreme heat are inappropriate. He also added that it's difficult to find girls' shorts that meet the school's 4-inch length requirement in most stores. He finds the regulations on girls' clothing to be discriminatory, so he's fighting back, saying, "You have to stand up for what's right and that's what I'm doing."

The school district met last week to discuss the dress code but has not announced any changes. Fisher Principal Lisa Fraser defended the code in a statement that read, “There has always been a dress code. These are standards for reasonable decorum. I do reserve the right to set guidelines for the school, but I want to lead with the pulse of the community and reflect the community’s core values.”

Cox Media Group