Nail tech’s 9-year-old was dress-coded for her watermelon nails. Mom quietly sent the principal screenshots of the school’s own policy — and won

School dress codes are meant to set boundaries for what students can wear, but sometimes those rules can create confusion. For Jordan Clausen's (@jordanleecl) 9-year-old daughter, it was the latter. The young girl was dress-coded for having watermelon-themed nail polish. But the nail technician mom was not going down without a fight. On August 24, 2026, she took to Instagram to share a photo of the handbook her daughter received in her fourth-grade welcome packet. Clausen believed her daughter did not violate any policies and reached out to her teachers to clear up the misunderstanding. Just 19 hours later, the school responded. The video has reached 3.7 million views, 201,000 likes, and over 2,200 comments.

No colored polish

Jordan Clausen's daughter goes to a public charter school that had strict dress codes during the first few years. According to the screenshot she provided, students were only allowed to wear clear polish to school. But the twist? "This exact policy is two years outdated," stated Clausen. This was the version that was given to her daughter. But her daughter is a stickler for rules, so the moment she was dress-coded, she asked her mother to remove the polish. But the fact remained that the school was incorrect. She emailed her daughter's teachers about the error and included both the uniform policies (new and outdated). She pointed out that for the last two years, students were allowed to use colored polish. "This is something that I check every year for this specific reason," she added.

School-themed nails

19 hours later, the school replied and admitted that they had made a mistake. They clearly stated that Clausen was right, and they were going to update their team about the misunderstanding. Now that her daughter can wear colored nail polish to school again, Clausen asked her to pick a new design. Her daughter decided to go with a "school-themed" set. For one hand, she chose a traditional notebook design with blue lines and a red border. The 'notebook pages' had stars, hearts, and squiggles on them. On the other hand, her inspiration was different colored crayons. The doodles on the 'notebook page' nails matched the colors of the orange, purple, pink, blue, and green crayons.

Modern school dress codes

While Clausen's daughter's school gave students the creative liberty to express themselves, not every other school is the same. A study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that 90% of dress codes prohibited girls from wearing a specific type of clothing item, while 69% prohibited boys from wearing certain items. The report also found that 15% of district dress codes had sex-based rules for clothing, accessories, or hairstyles, with some even specifying, "No fingernail polish or makeup is allowed on male students." On the other hand, the National Center for Education Statistics revealed that strict dress codes decreased from 57% in 2009-10 to 37% in 2021-22.

Perfect for back to school

People celebrated with Clausen and her daughter for getting to paint her nails again. @ohmygod.its.tash commented, "That's super cute! Crayons and notebook paper. So jealous of your daughter. She's so creative." @gretchen.m.goodell added, "Oh my God! Those are perfect for back to school."

You can follow Jordan Clausen (@jordanleecl) on Instagram for more nail inspiration and lifestyle content.

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