In recent years, schools throughout the country and beyond have experienced an increase in pushback against their dress codes.
Not only is this because they tend to be enforced differently by gender, but it's clear that students simply aren't buying the rationale that banned outfits for girls "distract" boys anymore.
But while common dress codes like this have been the subject of protests and frustrated letters from parents, it's even harder to tell what someone is supposed to do when the dress code targets their natural attributes.
This is a problem that many people of color face when these codes set a "professional" standard for hair that excludes their natural hairstyles, but the rare circumstances behind one student's story in particular shows how rigid and overzealous enforcement of dress codes can be.