A 7-year-old girl attending a non-religious state school in Petach Tikva was made to spend the day in just her underwear and a T-shirt on Monday. Due to the extreme heat, the girl had arrived at school in a sleeveless dress which was against the school’s dress code.

According to a report in the Israeli media site Ynet, the school claims to have called the child’s mother and asked her to bring new clothes. The mother, who was in a class of her own, was unable to come and told the school that the girl had an additional sweater in her backpack. The school said that this too was in violation of the code as it did not have the school’s crest on it. The school then informed the mother that they would provide a t-shirt for the girl.

The teacher instructed the girl to go to the bathroom and remove the dress completely and put on the T-shirt. When the girl returned to class in just her underwater, the teacher did not say that anything was amiss.

“I saw how the other kids were laughing at her,” the girl’s mother told Ynet. The girl had been made to spend the entire school day in her underwater.

“I was in shock, I couldn’t believe it. I asked the teacher why she did it and she said that the rules stated it is forbidden to wear a sleeveless dress. I told her: ‘so just underwear is okay?'”

the mother added: “My daughter doesn’t want to talk about it and doesn’t want to go to school anymore. I have started looking for a new school for her.”

Attorney Victoria Roitman, who is representing the family, said: “A police complaint has been filed today, and we have a school meeting tomorrow. We are demanding an investigation and appropriate punishment as this is a serious case. How we proceed depends on the outcome of the meeting.”

The Ministry of Education said in response: “The issue of the dress code lies with the school authorities. Nonetheless, the ministry very much regrets the incident and notes that there was room for more sensitivity. A conversation was held with the principal and things were made clear to her.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)