A Florida high school decided to digitally alter yearbook photos to cover up exposed skin in the original photos due to concerns over modesty.
WJAX reports that 80 female students at Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns, Florida, had their yearbook photos digitally changed without permission.
- The photos covered up “exposed shoulders and low necklines,” according to CBS News.
- Here’s an example of the altered photos:
Who made the decision to change the Florida yearbook photos?
St. Johns County School District told WJAX that the photos were changed because the photos did not follow the school’s dress code. Officials with the school said the photos did not meet the standards of the institution and were inappropriate.
- Bartram Trail said on its website that the photos “must be consistent with the St. Johns County School District Student Code of Conduct or may be digitally adjusted.”
- It’s unclear if there are any legal ramifications of the decision to alter the photos.
A female teacher made the decision to change the photos, according to CBS News. Christina Langston, a district spokeswoman, told The St. Augustine Record that the teacher works as the yearbook coordinator.
- “Bartram Trail High School’s previous procedure was to not include student pictures in the yearbook that they deemed in violation of the student code of conduct, so the digital alterations were a solution to make sure all students were included in the yearbook,” Langston told The St. Augustine Record.
How did students react?
The high school students were shocked to see their yearbook photos changed, CBS News reports.
- “Embarrassed, ashamed and sexualized were the most common terms students used when describing how they felt,” according to CBS News.
Critics also pointed out that the yearbook left unedited photos of the men’s swim team, who were wearing Speedos — which also violates the school dress code, according to NPR.
Is anything being done?
Langston told The St. Augustine Record that the school has offered refunds for the yearbooks. And the school has been “receiving feedback from parents/guardians/students on making this process better for next year.”