Scribe
01-07-2006, 10:56
Teenager may wear his kilt at high school
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<!--BYLINE--> The Associated Press <!--END BYLINE-->
Published Saturday, January 7, 2006
<!--BODY--> A southeast Missouri student who was told to change out of his kilt at a high school dance can wear the garment to future school functions, a lawyer for the district said.
"He can wear that kilt to school if he wants, to the prom, to a basketball game," Jackson school district lawyer Steve Wright said yesterday.
But Wright cited one exception. Though he said it’s not anticipated, student Nathan Warmack could be asked to change if the kilt-wearing somehow resulted in a problem or disruption.
That has been a sticking point for Nathan and his parents because his wearing of the kilt was seen by a school official as disruptive in the first place.
The Warmacks have said they think a broader policy change is necessary to allow other students to wear formal cultural dress to school functions, if they choose.
Warmack, 18, wore a kilt to a Jackson High School dance in November with a dress shirt and tie as a way to recognize his Scottish heritage. Principal Rick McClard told Warmack to change into pants, allegedly telling Warmack he wasn’t going to have students coming into the dance looking like clowns. The Warmacks said they were told McClard did not recall saying that. They have requested a formal apology.
Phone messages to McClard were not returned. Wright said he believes the principal had to make a snap judgment call and has since reconsidered the decision. He said it’s appropriate that the ability to make dress code decisions remain with the principal, saying that’s a common practice.
A North Carolina lawyer working with the Warmacks, Kirk Lyons, said Thursday that the issue has not been resolved. "I would like for the school to do the right thing," he said.
Nathan’s father, Terry Warmack, said yesterday that he plans to meet with the school board Monday in a closed session, and he did not wish to comment at length until after he found out more.
Neither the school district, citing the privacy of student records, nor the Warmacks, hoping to have more information after Monday’s meeting, would allow The Associated Press to see a letter sent from McClard to Nathan Warmack in recent weeks.
Since Warmack was told to change out of the kilt at the dance, an Internet petition supporting him - and started by Texas members of a Scottish heritage group - has swelled with more than 11,000 names and notes of support.
Many express outrage. Others offer support, like a doctor who wrote that he wore his own kilt to work one day in the student’s honor.
Some Scottish supporters have sent him gifts, including a traditional pouch worn around the waist in front of a kilt.
<!--END HEAD-->
<!--BYLINE--> The Associated Press <!--END BYLINE-->
Published Saturday, January 7, 2006
<!--BODY--> A southeast Missouri student who was told to change out of his kilt at a high school dance can wear the garment to future school functions, a lawyer for the district said.
"He can wear that kilt to school if he wants, to the prom, to a basketball game," Jackson school district lawyer Steve Wright said yesterday.
But Wright cited one exception. Though he said it’s not anticipated, student Nathan Warmack could be asked to change if the kilt-wearing somehow resulted in a problem or disruption.
That has been a sticking point for Nathan and his parents because his wearing of the kilt was seen by a school official as disruptive in the first place.
The Warmacks have said they think a broader policy change is necessary to allow other students to wear formal cultural dress to school functions, if they choose.
Warmack, 18, wore a kilt to a Jackson High School dance in November with a dress shirt and tie as a way to recognize his Scottish heritage. Principal Rick McClard told Warmack to change into pants, allegedly telling Warmack he wasn’t going to have students coming into the dance looking like clowns. The Warmacks said they were told McClard did not recall saying that. They have requested a formal apology.
Phone messages to McClard were not returned. Wright said he believes the principal had to make a snap judgment call and has since reconsidered the decision. He said it’s appropriate that the ability to make dress code decisions remain with the principal, saying that’s a common practice.
A North Carolina lawyer working with the Warmacks, Kirk Lyons, said Thursday that the issue has not been resolved. "I would like for the school to do the right thing," he said.
Nathan’s father, Terry Warmack, said yesterday that he plans to meet with the school board Monday in a closed session, and he did not wish to comment at length until after he found out more.
Neither the school district, citing the privacy of student records, nor the Warmacks, hoping to have more information after Monday’s meeting, would allow The Associated Press to see a letter sent from McClard to Nathan Warmack in recent weeks.
Since Warmack was told to change out of the kilt at the dance, an Internet petition supporting him - and started by Texas members of a Scottish heritage group - has swelled with more than 11,000 names and notes of support.
Many express outrage. Others offer support, like a doctor who wrote that he wore his own kilt to work one day in the student’s honor.
Some Scottish supporters have sent him gifts, including a traditional pouch worn around the waist in front of a kilt.