The school district told local media the changes were made to ensure the photos met the dress code, which says girls' shirts must be "modest".

But critics pointed to yearbook photos of male students left unedited despite violating the same standards.

The digital alterations were made without permission, the students say.

Bartram Trail High School's yearbook co-ordinator - a female teacher - made the decision to edit the photos after determining they had violated the dress code, the St Johns County school district said.

A disclaimer on Bartram Trail's website warns students that their yearbook photos may be digitally edited to be consistent with the dress code.

But some students have called the alterations distressing and accused the school of sexism.

"The double standard in the yearbook is more so that they looked at our body and thought just a little bit of skin showing was sexual," Bartram Trail student Riley O'Keefe, 15, told CBS affiliate WJAX News.

"But then they looked at the boys, for the swim team photos and other sports photos and thought that was fine, and that's really upsetting and uncomfortable."

Riley O'Keefe
IMAGE COPYRIGHTCOURTESY OF FAMILY
image captionRiley was one of the students whose photo was altered
In a statement to WJAX, the district said the school's previous policy was to remove all photos that violated the dress code, and this year's edits were to make sure all students were included.

Following the criticism, Bartram Trail, a government-run high school near Jacksonville with about 2,500 students, has said they will issue refunds for the $100 (£70) yearbook to parents upset by the changes.

The district's dress code for the 2020-2021 school year says that girls' tops and shirts "must cover the entire shoulder" and must be "modest and not revealing or distracting". "Excessive make-up" is not permitted and all students are prohibited from donning "extreme hairstyles".

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