All students at a North Carolina charter school follow the same curriculum.
However, its gender-specific uniform standards divide them in a way that a federal court ruled illegal on Tuesday.
In a majority judgment, Senior Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan wrote that the clothing code at Charter Day School in Leland, N.C., could no longer be enforced.
According to the school's founder, the uniform requirements cultivate chivalry "based on the belief that ladies are 'fragile vessels' deserving of 'gentle' treatment by boys."
In a 10-to-6 decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found it to be discriminatory against female students.
"By enforcing the skirts requirement based on apparent gender stereotypes about the 'appropriate place' for girls and women in society," Keenan said in the ruling.