Dad Wears Tiny Top and Shorts to School Meeting to Protest “Inappropriate” Student Attire

In an astonishing act of rebellion at a recent school board meeting, a father removed his usual clothing and revealed a crop top and micro shorts beneath it. He demonstrated the clothing that is allowed by the school for students under their new dress code.

A father’s bold statement.

A father from Arizona named Ira Latham went to a school meeting to make a strong point. He shed his normal clothing to deliver a powerful message about the Higley Unified School District’s newly minted dress code. The incident left everyone in attendance wide-eyed and flabbergasted. Ira, a proud parent of four kids attending Higley Unified School District, believes the school’s new dress code is inappropriate for students.

The video of the act has gone viral.

A clip from the board meeting captured the moment when Latham boldly approached the podium, ready to unveil his message. In front of the school board and everyone in attendance, Latham declared that, as per the new policy, the outfit he was wearing would be okay. He then did not hesitate to lower his shorts and remove his shirt, revealing a tiny crop top and micro shorts. He even spun around to give everyone a full view of the controversial attire to make sure everyone saw what he meant.

Latham considered the new rules too lenient. He admits that he did it as he is not only concerned about his kids in the school but also about all the other kids attending.

The dress code dilemma.

The old rules of the school, which had remained virtually untouched for over twenty years, had some strict guidelines. They prevented students from showing off their chests, midriffs, or abdomens. But the updated version threw most of those rules out the window, focusing instead on underwear exposure.

Latham was not happy about this shift. He lamented that with the old code, the students had some guidance. But with the new ones, he thinks that the authorities are just saying that as long as children cover their underwear, any clothing should be okay and allowed. But despite his unconventional protest, the school board was not swayed. They voted 3 to 2 in favor of the new policy ultimately passing the new dress code.

The school board’s reply to the protest and controversy.

After the dust settled from Latham’s eye-catching protest, Tiffany Shultz, the governing board president, made her stance clear. She saw Latham’s clothing removal as more of a publicity stunt than a game-changer. She mentioned that when the father made his point clear, the meeting went on. They heard other speakers’ points of view and made a final decision.

The board decided that they want parents and families to determine what is suitable for their kids and let them wear that to school. Any attire is okay as long as it doesn’t hinder usual school activities.

Shultz defended the new dress code, but some parents disagreed.

Explaining that it aligned with policies in neighboring schools, Tiffany took sides. The primary goal was to allow teachers to focus on teaching, not on measuring students’ attire, she explained. Another board member who supported the new policy, Amanda Wade, echoed Shultz’s sentiments. Wade believed Latham’s fashion statement was somewhat off the mark. She admitted that she understood why some parents were upset with the new policy, but she called out the father for wearing such clothing and making quite a scene at the meeting.

However, Anna Van Hoek, a board member who voted against the new code, felt that not all parents’ concerns had been heard. She found it absurd that adults were advocating for children to wear less and less clothing. Parents and board members who opposed the change vowed to revisit the issue in hopes of having their voices heard and the dress code reconsidered.

Some schools have also started charging $2/minute fees from parents for picking up their children late. You can read about it here.