Dad sports shorts and midriff at school board meeting to rail against ‘inappropriate’ dress code

(Daily Caller News Foundation) – An Arizona father stripped down to a crop top and shorts during a school board meeting, appearing to make a statement about the district’s new relaxed dress code.

Ira Latham, took off his clothes during a Higley Unified School District school board meeting in September, according to a school board meeting video. He believes the crop top and shorts are “inappropriate.”

“Now if you ask me, this is inappropriate for a board meeting,” he told the board. “You have a dress code policy that allows this in a classroom. It does not promote a safe classroom environment, as well as limiting the amount of distractions in the classroom.”

The board voted 3 to 2 in favor of the new policy despite the stunt, according to the meeting’s video.

The school district’s previous dress code policy prohibited students from showing their chest, abdomen, or midriff, according to a document from the school district for the 2022-2023 school year. It now only restricts students from showing their underwear, a local CBS outlet reported.

His wife, Monica Latham also spoke at the meeting.

“Changing the stress code does not help the education whatsoever for our children,” she said. “I have heard of teachers that turn their room into iceboxes because they do not want to be known as sexist or favoring or what not other students. They make sure they turn them into iceboxes so the students cover themselves so they don’t have to deal with any of that.”

She also hoped the board would reconsider as the policy is “unfair to teachers and students.