After months of legal negotiations and a spate of national media attention, the families of five Redwood Middle School students and the Napa Valley Unified School District reached a settlement Friday over claims that the school's no-logos, no-denim dress code violated students’ constitutional rights.

The suit is best known because then-middle schooler Toni Kay Scott, one of the plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union in the case, was removed from class for wearing socks with the Winnie the Pooh character Tigger. Her sister, Sydni, was reprimanded for wearing a shirt that read, “Jesus Freak.”

Under the settlement agreement, the district will not prohibit lettering or pictures unless allowed by the state education code, which protects the free speech rights of students in California’s public schools.

Future dress codes at Redwood Middle School that limit colors, fabrics or patterns must be implemented as part of a school uniform that allows parents to opt out.

The original policy, introduced in the 1990s in response to rising gang activity on campus, prohibited students from wearing denim or clothing displaying stripes, logos of any size or colors other than white, yellow, green, blue, brown, khaki, black and gray. School officials and teachers have said the dress code was successful in mitigating safety concerns.

Scott and other students said the policy crossed a constitutional line.

“California law contains strong protections for student speech, and limits schools' ability to restrict students' clothing choices,” said Julia Harumi Mass, an ACLU attorney. Mass said that, “While in the media Toni Kay's Tigger socks got a lot of attention, really the principles behind the case, which are freedom of expression and individuality, are core American values.”

The settlement bars the school from prohibiting logos like those on Toni Kay’s now infamous socks or phrases like those on her sister Sydni’s shirt. Logos and lettering are protected under the settlement unless determined to be obscene, libelous or slanderous, or designed to promote unlawful acts or violation of school regulations, said Mass.

According to NVUSD Superintendent John Glaser, “There will be no impact in the immediate future on what students wear.”

The school will keep the interim dress code put in place in the beginning of this school year, after the lawsuit was under way.

That policy does not explicitly ban clothes with logos or writing, unless those words or symbols are linked to gangs or drug use. But it retains restrictions on fabrics that students can wear, bars students from wearing sagging pants, tube tops and other clothes or accessories considered distracting or inappropriate.

If school officials decide to implement a stricter policy next year — and they have the option of doing so — families can decide to opt out. Glaser said the school and district are “looking at the possibility of implementing a uniform policy some time in the future.”

It is unclear whether a uniform policy will go into effect as early as next year, he said, or even what the policy will look like. However, said Glaser, it is likely that a new uniform policy will give the students fewer options than the original dress code.

As part of the settlement, the district will remove any references to dress code violations from the student plaintiffs' records and allow all other students who attended Redwood during the last six years to request that similar references be removed from their records.

Now, he said, the district will be able to turn its attention — and funds — back to educating students.

“We are glad we were able to settle the lawsuit, which diverted economic resources from our primary mission,” said Glaser. The amount of money spent on litigation instead of education, he said, has been “too much.”

“From the district’s perspective, we still disagree on the basic point of the law, but didn't believe it was worth spending the dollars on,” he said. But, he added, he appreciates “the spirit of cooperation” from all parties “to avoid framing this in terms of winners and losers.”

Donnell Scott, mother of Toni Kay and Sydni Scott and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said she's pleased with the outcome. “I think it's great that my daughter Sydni, and all the kids at Redwood, can wear clothes that express their individuality,” she said, adding that she felt this was a case of the “little man versus the big man.”

“I guess I’m just tired of people telling me how to raise my kids,” she said. “I didn't do this just for my children, but for everybody. It shows that the little person can win.”

Redwood Principal Mike Pearson said, “It’s a case of David versus Goliath.” But the little guy is the district, he said. “We did not have the money to fight this thing. The ACLU had a very powerful law firm that was willing to work pro bono, and the district didn’t. End of story.”

The lawsuit, he said, impedes teachers. “To me, it’s just tragedy that the people on the front lines, i.e. the educators, the teachers, ultimately are not valued or respected for their professional opinion on what they feel would be the type of conducive learning environment to promote student learning for all children.” The purpose of the dress code, he said, was never to limit free speech; it was to ensure the safety of his students.

“The irony,” said Pearson, “is that we had 10 years of little or no gang activity, a strong focus on education, and a very safe campus. And with the new policy that we’ve had in place since the first day of school this year, our worst fears have been realized. Gang activity has tripled, disciplinary issues have risen. ... All in the spirit of fashion and privilege.”