12-Year-Old Honor Student's California Bear Shirt Lands Him a Dress Code Violation Because It's "Gang Related"

Edgy t-shirt, kid.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Who knew Kohl's was in the business of selling t-shirts that pushed the envelope to teenagers? A 12-year-old "honor student" at Yuba Gardens Intermediate School in California was cited for a "dress code violation" after wearing the Kohls-purchased t-shirt emblazoned with a haplessly patriotic bear pictured above. "I asked him why," the child’s mother, Lori Carpenter, tells FOX 40. "He said he was ‘dress coded’ at school because the stars were gang related."

According to school officials, the red star on the top right of the t-shirt is "often associated" with the Norteno gang, though it’s also "often associated" with an inconsequential t-shirt from Kohl’s and similar suppliers of yawn-inducingly non-confrontational clothing. "Our local gang task force, they identify colors, they identify designs, they identify all of the things that we should be aware of," Marysville Joint Unified School District's Assistant Superintendent told reporters.

"I mean, they are trying to keep everybody safe," Carpenter says. "I understand, but it feels like it is a little too far. Especially [for] a patriotic shirt." Kohl's: here for your perplexingly controversial t-shirt needs.

Latest in Pop Culture