Dress Codes: The Legalization Of School Uniforms

In 1987, a public school in Baltimore, Maryland became the first to instill a school uniform policy in the United States. This idea of all students dressing alike spread throughout the country, and by 1994 a school district in Long Beach, CA became the first to require a whole school district to wear school uniforms (Background of the Issue - School Uniforms - ProCon.org). Today, an average of 23% of public and private schools enforce a school uniform system (School Uniform Statistics). But this change in dress code policy did not come about without controversy. Although some will argue uniforms promote safety, focus, and an even playing field in schools, school uniform policies oppress student’s freedom of expression, advocate for conformity, and cause more problems than they fix.

One main reason public schools have uniforms / dress code is because in 1996, President Clinton allowed the school uniform movement and said, “If it means teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms.” This gave schools the power to control the

Determining what to wear to school is difficult for the majority of middle and high schoolers. Wouldn't it be simpler to just have a set outfit planned for each and every day? Throughout education history, the concept of school uniforms has been experimented and debated within both public and private schools. Several schools across the United States require these uniforms, while the rest apply a dress code. Although applying a dress code may seem as if it eliminates all issues with inappropriate clothing violation, it is truly not advantageous. The only alternative to mend this situation would be to enforce school uniforms. Not only would this decrease dress code violations, it would lessen discipline referrals, improve students' self esteems,

Dress code is put into place to keep students from being bullied for how they dress and how some people may treat them different depending on what they wear. There is a lot of evidence that show students losing time in the class room because they are too worried about there personal apparel. David Brunsma, a sociologist who wrote Uniforms in Public Schools: A Decade of Research and Debate in 2005, says,

To begin, school uniforms are economic. Parents have an easier time buying a few sets of uniforms for their children rather than buying a new wardrobe every school year. Students do not have to worry about deciding what to wear every day. Checking their closet and grabbing the uniform is all it takes. For example, back in my sister’s middle school days, she was required to

Most commonly found in private schools, school uniforms are slowly being adopted by public schools in the US. In the 2003-2004 school year every one in eight schools required uniforms; in the 2011-2012 school year that number had increased to every one in five schools (ProCon.org). As violence increased, schools started enforcing uniforms thinking that it would solve the violence. School uniforms were created in England in the 16th century for students referred to as the “charity children” (ProCon.org). In later centuries, high-class schools were the most commonly known for requiring their students to wear uniforms. The first recorded time a public school in the US required uniforms was in 1987, a school in Maryland put out an optional uniform policy (ProCon.org). Uniforms have been being enforced by private schools for years, but now public schools are trying to enforce them. Students should not be required to wear uniforms because it refuses students the ability to express themselves, dress codes are more effective, and uniforms can cause a detrimental effect on self-image.

Have you ever been excluded from learning because of what you wore to school? In most schools, dress codes are set in place to provide a better learning space for all students. Having a dress code can oppress students because students are given the impression that they should not express themselves. Not all families can afford the clothes that abide by the rules. For example, some students don 't have the means to pay for new clothes, so they have to use hand-me-down clothing. Enforcing a dress code can lead to more problems in the long run because of the exceptions made for students who are athletes and cheerleaders. Many school faculty members including teachers and administrators think that keeping a dress code will keep students looking appropriate while learning, but this idea is wrong because it keeps students from expressing themselves and, the dress code singles out women.

For quite some time now there has been an ongoing discussion about students wearing school uniforms in public schools. Is students in the public-school system play a major role on them academically? Is making the students wear uniforms unfair or does it show equality? What image does it set for the schools that do have a uniform policy? Over the last few decades, the schools, parents, and students have had a debatable issue over the uniform matter.

The idea of uniforms being required for public school students has been a widely controversial topic in the recent past. In the 2003-2004 school year, only one in eight public schools required students to wear uniforms (ProConorg Headlines). In the 2013-2014 school year, one in five public schools required students to wear uniforms (ProConorg Headlines). This essay will discuss the reasons that uniforms restrict the individuality of students, burdens families that cannot afford two sets of clothes for each of their children (Farrell), and serve little to none purpose in benefitting the education of students. Uniforms are meant for the workforce, not school children.

Dress codes has been apart of the educational system for many years. Administrators have struggled to find effective ways to deal with discipline problems. The creation of the dress codes has been a common solution for many educational system to help decrease the number of disciplinary issues that are dealt with on a daily basis. Things such as gang activity, bullying, increasing violence can all be traced to the way people in school’s dress. The dress code policy is considered to be a "fix all" solution in many public schools, but has failed to resolve the big issues. Dress codes should not be instituted to fix a particular problem, but should be looked at to help overall school reform. This why most private schools have a particular uniform that students must wear every single day. To try and resolve the issue. However, a school uniform policy does not carry enough weight that produces a safe learning environment or helps students achieve their goals at being successful. A student's role is to come into school everyday to learn, without having to worry about gang activities, being bullying or having someone start a fight with them because they are wearing a particular color.

During the last few years, dress codes have been implemented and accepted more and more. Dress codes are commonplace and most schools consider them a necessity. Dress codes, however, need to be revised. Dress codes objectify students’ bodies and often interrupt the students’ learning environment more than the student violating the dress code. For example, if a student has dyed hair, then there is still focus inside the classroom, but if the teacher dress codes them, all the class attention is lost. Dress codes should be revised to not interrupt the learning environment and be less objective and shameful to students’ bodies.

Dress codes are worldwide and many people have problems dealing with them. Uniforms or dress codes are implemented at both jobs and school. Some dress codes make it to where people cannot express who they are or how they may feel. Dress codes should be implemented but not as strict. Uniforms help many people financially, but that does not keep the issues such as bullying away. They also limit people to who they are and that is not okay. Lighten up on dress codes.

The history of school uniforms in the United States public schools begins with small underprivileged school of Cherry Hill Elementary in Maryland and the domino effect that happened soon after in the years after. The popularity of school uniforms can greatly be credited to the Long Beach, California study and President Bill Clinton’s speech on the topic. At first, school uniforms were only for the private or Catholic private schools however the school uniform trend spread to other public schools to adopt the “preppy look” and success. This has now set new standard for the United States school system. A brief history of school uniforms will give a significant insight on the growing development that is transforming American schools.

What is the purpose of a school uniform? Where did this idea come from? Whether to wear a uniform or not has been a major debate for decades. The idea has been debated since the 1980's and was an issue when candidates ran for president in the 1990's. "Parochial and private schools have a long history of using school uniforms to project an atmosphere of uniformity, pride, loyalty, and equality among the student population" ("Educational Schools Uniforms," 1997).

Wouldn’t you appreciate that your children always know what to wear for school? School uniform is what makes it easy! A set of clothing that is mainly worn, school uniform is one of the school's policy and recommendation. Generally worn in elementary and middle school, this outfit is composed of specific colors of long or short pants and shirts for boys, sometimes with a tie. Girls usually wear a dress or a blouse worn either with a skirt or pants, all however have the same colors. This dress code determines even the type of shoes that should be worn at school. School uniform may vary from school to school, but it remains the basis dress code for the education system. The adoption of school extensive uniform mandatory has been encouraged