Chris Wilson said schoolgirl Karis was left terrified when choosing what to wear each morning after the male staff member complained.
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She was reprimanded after being informed that her clothes had made the teacher at the NorKam Secondary School in British Columbia, Canada, feel “awkward”.
Another female teacher had also commented that Karis’ attire reminded her of a “lingerie outfit.”
The teenager was wearing a white long-sleeved top with a knee-length black dress with a lace trim worn over the top of it.
Her furious father slammed the school for disrupting Karis’ education over her clothing and leaving the teen in tears.
Chris said: “She wasn’t wearing it in a sexual manner. She wasn’t wearing it for attention. She normally wears track pants and a hoody.
“She had a snowboarding accident a month or two ago and couldn’t be active for a while. She had started going to the gym and feeling better about herself.
“The one day she decided to wear a dress and feel good about herself, this is how they reacted.”
After the incident allegedly demolished his then-17-year-old daughter’s self-esteem, the dad decided to seek revenge on the school via social media.
He shared his outrage regarding the dress code policy in a Facebook video in wake of the incident in February 2021.
The clip quickly amassed over 100,000 views, and an army of supporters bombarded the school with emails about the incident.
Karis stayed off for over a week as the clip quickly went viral – but only became increasingly worried about the way she dressed for class.
Chris continued: “It became more about caring about what to wear to school than going for the education.
“She had lost more than a week of school and then she said, ‘Dad, I don’t know what to wear to school.
“She elaborated a little bit and said, ‘Dad, if I wear just my track pants and hoodie, if I wear something comfortable, am I conforming? If I wear something I feel pretty in, am I trying to rub it in their face?'”
In the clip, Chris claimed he was told that the member of staff who made the comments was “a little bit old school.”
He said he was then informed that the dress code states that outfits should not “distract from teaching or learning.”
The dad told CBC: “It’s actually a very modest outfit when you actually look at it … I think the initial comments were based on the fact that it had lace.
“And the more you think of it, the more you say it, the more you understand that this is absurd. I’m frustrated, I’m hurt.
“I’m disappointed in the system. She was sent home wearing this beautiful dress and a turtleneck – because we know inappropriate turtlenecks can be.”
Students at Norkam Senior Secondary showed their support for Karis by staging a walkout in protest against the way she was treated.
But the teenager was too scared to ever return to school, refusing to step foot back in the classroom after the outfit ordeal.
Karis finished her high school education at home, yet was still able to attend her graduation in person with her friends.
She has now started university in Alberta and wants to put the incident behind her, according to the Mirror.
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