Ha POLICY MATTERS

POLICY MATTERS!

School Dress Codes

What's the Policy?

No issue in education is of greater concern than student behavior or discipline. In the wake of the Columbine High School shootings in 1999, in which the killers dressed in "Goth" or

"trench-coat Mafia" outfits, came a rash of suspensions across the nation over inappropriate dress.

One of the leading school policy options in this arena is the adoption of school uniforms.

Currently, 20 percent of the nation's school districts use uniforms, although most of these districts have a voluntary school uniform policy.

In addition, many schools enforce a dress code. For example, some schools may forbid students to wear clothing that advertises alcohol and tobacco products. In addition, some are outlawing baggy pants, blue jeans, “distressed” clothing, unnaturally colored hair, and body piercings except those in ears. In recent years, many schools adopted restrictions on girls' clothing, as extremely low-slung jeans became fashionable

How Does It Affect Teachers?

The way students conduct themselves in school is of intense interest to everyone, including parents, administrators, and teachers. Many schools such as those in Long Beach,

Calif., which has had a very successful uniform policy for years, attribute dramatic declines in school violence and misbehavior to uniforms. If students are not distracted by their own or others' clothing or misbehavior, they and their teachers are able to spend more time on the teaching and learning tasks that are central to education. In schools without uniforms, teachers may find themselves responsible for interpreting and enforcing the specifics of a general dress code. If they do not handle violations effectively, teachers could create even more distraction than the student who wears the inappropriate clothing.

What Are the Pros?

Proponents say that school uniforms offer a concrete and visible means of restoring order and discipline to the schools. Instead of kids fighting one another over designer jackets or the latest hot sneaker or creating an economic pecking order based on who can afford the "in" clothing, there is greater economic equality because everyone wears the same clothes.

Also, requiring dress codes or uniforms for public school students appeals to an intuitive belief that increased structure will improve students' behavior, attitudes, and learning. In this country, school uniforms are associated with private and Catholic schools, which are perceived to be more orderly and safe and offer a better learning environment than public schools.

Similarly, a clear dress code can offer a sense of structure to students that will allow them to concentrate on matters other than their clothing.

What Are the Cons?

Those opposing school uniforms see this policy as un-American, attempting to stifle children's individuality and sense of distinctiveness and perhaps even depriving them of their rights. One father, who recently lost a lawsuit in Federal court opposing the dress code at his sixth grade daughter’s school, said the code made students “look like rows of corn.”

Opponents of uniforms also point out that research results are mixed. One recent study of

5,000 tenth graders, for example, found that "sophomores in schools requiring uniforms were no less likely than their more casually dressed peers to fight, smoke, drink alcohol, take drugs, or otherwise get in trouble in schools."

Dress codes can create problems too, especially those that are vague or unevenly enforced. Students and teachers may expend energy dealing with clothing issues that could be more productively used.

What Do You Think?

1. Have you had any firsthand experience teaching or observing students who are required

to wear school uniforms? If so, what did you observe?

2. Do you favor a school wide uniform policy? Why or why not?

3. How would you, as a teacher, go about approaching a student who was violating the

school's dress code?

4. Do you think there ought to be explicit dress codes for teachers?

SOURCES

Jessica Portner, "Schools Ratchet Up the Rules on Student Clothing, Threat," Education Week,

May 12, 1999.

Debra Viadero, "Uniform Findings," Teacher Magazine on the Web (January 1999). Available

at: http://www.edweek.org/tm/.

Marianne D Hurst, “Court OKs Ky. District’s Dress Code.” Ed Week, Feb. 16, 2005.

For more information on the current status of dress code policies, visit these web sites, and then reflect on the questions that follow.

School Uniforms: Quick Fix or Bad Call? http://familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,5-4116,00.html

This article from argues that school dress codes are a juggling act. They may help make

schools safer, but strict dress codes are not for everybody.

Students’ Rights http://www.aclunc.org/students/guide/

The Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union offers a guide to

student’s civil rights. Click on “dress codes” to get a Q&A summary of the legal

considerations involved in dress codes.

Disagreeing Over Dress http://www.asbj.com/2001/01/0101schoollaw.html

This article from the archives of the American School Board Journal reviews a key Supreme

Court action related to school dress codes, and suggests that defining a dress code is a legally challenging task.

School Uniforms http://www.eduref.org/cgi- bin/print.cgi/Resources/Educational_Management/Dress_Codes/School_Uniforms.html

This from the Educator’s Reference Desk site is a collection of links to other sites

offering information and varying viewpoints about school uniforms and dress codes.

For Further Reflection: 1. How would you craft a dress code that balances the generality needed to adhere to legal

rulings and changing fashions with the specifics needed to effectively guide students?

2. Are the benefits of a dress code worth the difficulties of establishing and enforcing it?

Why or why not?

3. What are appropriate guidelines for teacher's clothing?