Many school districts are adopting various restrictions on student dress for a variety of reasons. Uniform and dress code proponents argue that they increase student attendance, promote discipline, and reinforce positive attitudes toward authority.

As Carl A. Cohn, superintendent of Long Beach Unified School District -- one of the first school districts to require uniforms -- puts it, school uniforms work because they "help to improve the learning climate, eliminate gang attire, encourage students to take school seriously as their place of business, reduce friction between students from different backgrounds and level the playing field so that students are judged by what they learn and can do, not by the price of what they wear."

Conversely, those opposed to uniforms contend that they threaten students' free expression rights. They also argue that dress codes, and especially uniforms, could discourage individuality and critical thinking. As one commentator put it, "uniform policies too broadly sweep students' First Amendment rights and, therefore, cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny . . . The United States is not a 'nation bent on turning out robots'; allowing uniform regulations is certainly a step in the wrong direction."¹

Because each side argues so passionately about the merits of school uniform policies, the issue could ultimately find its way to the Supreme Court. Until then, we are likely to continue to see challenges to various school uniform policies around the country.

¹ Ray, A. (1995). A Nation of Robots? The Unconstitutionality of Public School Uniform Codes, J. Marshall L. Rev., 28, 645, 682.

Last updated: Monday, September 6, 2010 | 12:17:07