TOMBALL, Texas – A family is upset after administrators at a Houston-area school punished dozens of girls on the same day for dress code violations.
“I've worn leggings so many times, so many girls have worn leggings,” said Bailey O'Rourke, an eighth-grader.
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O'Rourke wore leggings and a long top to class at Willow Wood Junior High, found in the Tomball Independent School District, on Wednesday. She said administrators told her she had to go home and change or face in-school suspension.
"They told me I had to go home. They said, 'Stand back' so I took a step back and they said, 'Stand straight' and they said, 'You need to go home and change,'” said Bailey.
Bailey said the same thing happened to more than a hundred other girls and some even ended up in ISS.
It started with a post on social media encouraging the girls to wear leggings, which isn't against dress code.
According to the school handbook, “Leggings may only be worn under a mid-thigh length top or skirt.”
Bailey and her mother said her top was long enough and school staff shouldn't have sent her home.
“I thought it was completely unnecessary. There was nothing wrong or inappropriate with what she was wearing,” said Bailey's mother Angela Hartman.
But, according to Tomball ISD, that wasn't the case. A district spokesperson said only 10 students were forced to change and they later returned to class. They said no one was punished.