LAURENS, S.C. — A South Carolina boy got in trouble at school because of what administrators called an “emerging hole” in his jeans.
Lori Orr said she got a call from Laurens Middle School on Monday, saying her son’s jeans violated dress code, and she either needed to bring in new jeans or pick him up from school.
Orr said money is tight right now, so most of the 11-year-old's clothes have little holes or signs of wear. She said it’s been a source of bullying for Ethan.
Orr couldn’t afford to buy the boy a new pair of jeans, so she had to pick him up from the office.
“He had to come home because of that he missed an entire day of education because of that,” Orr said. “I asked is this really a reason for him to have to be sent to the office and disrupt his morning disrupt his entire day? And she was like, well, we realize it’s not a hole, it’s what we call an emerging hole.”
Some schools in the Charlotte area have similar dress code rules, banning holes and torn clothing, tattered and worn clothing, even frayed hems. Orr thinks these rules are unfair to low-income families who can’t afford new clothes, and the rule should be revised.
“Maybe re-written I don’t think they have to nitpick like they do,” she said.
Ethan's situation is not unique. In Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools alone, there are 52,400 low-income students enrolled this year.
Ethan’s school told us they try to be discreet about dress code violations, and they've since offered to buy Ethan some new clothes. Orr hopes this leads all schools to reevaluate how certain cases are handled.
People from as far as San Francisco have reached out to NBC Charlotte after watching initial coverage of this story, asking if they can help Lori and Ethan.
The superintendent of Ethan's school got word of the incident. He agreed that it was "nitpicky" and said they would be amending the guidelines to exclude emerging holes such as Ethan's.
