FORT MILL, SC (WBTV) –
Parent Alicia Rogers is concerned that her daughter was punished for wearing a shirt she thought didn’t violate the rules. It happened September 1, at Riverview Elementary School in Fort Mill, SC.
Rogers, who works for WBTV, said the school didn’t call her to inform her of the alleged violation. The mother found out about it when she picked her daughter up from school.
“I turned around and looked at her and saw how upset she was, and she was starting to have tears,” Rogers said.
The 5th grader told her mother the teacher said her top was inappropriate. The 10-year-old student also told her mother the teacher made her wear a jacket when students went outside for recess.
“The humiliation she felt with kids coming up to her asking her why she was wearing a jacket while sweating,” Rogers said.
The mother did meet with the principal, but didn’t like the answers she received. She became frustrated.
“The teacher said to me, ‘it was the fact that she had the criss-cross straps in the back.’ and I asked, ‘I didn’t see that in the dress code,'” the mother said.
Stated on Riverview Elementary school’s website is the dress code – “Tank tops, tops with spaghetti string straps over the shoulders, and other tops that expose a student’s stomach or midriff are not acceptable.”
The mother argues her daughter’s top didn’t fall into that category. She also claims the school body shamed her daughter and her daughter deserves an apology. The school district offered a statement to WBTV.
“The school’s administration and parents have had an open dialogue regarding the parent’s concerns,” the statement read. “The matter is being resolved at the school level between the parents and administration.”
The mother also wants the district to start contacting parents immediately if teachers have an issue with students’ attire. The parent wonders why her daughter would get punished if there is no policy to support it. She is speaking out to teach her daughter a lesson.
“I wanted to take this situation where she felt completely powerless, and I wanted to give her a chance to kind of turn that into empowerment to stand up,” Rogers said.
The mother said she will speak at the next Fort Mill School Board meeting to tell school board members about what happened at her daughter’s school, and how it should never happen again.