School Uniforms — Dress Codes Vs Uniforms

In his 1996 State of the Union Address, President Clinton said,”If it means that the school rooms will be more orderly and more disciplined, and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside, instead of what they’re wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear uniforms.” Although originally only well known in private schools, school uniforms are the topic of much debate in homes, schools, and judges because the first public colleges started requiring that students wear uniforms from the 1980s. Since that time more and more schools, public and private, are opting for toddlers. Actually, 15.5 percent of public schools required uniforms from the 2007–2008 school year, according to the Department of Education, reflecting an increase of approximately 6 percent from a decade earlier.

Dress Codes Versus Uniforms

Dress codes generally differ from school uniforms so that they put rules about what cannot be worn but do not specify what needs to be worn. By way of instance, a dress code may need that skirts and shorts be a particular length or may ban printed or possibly offensive T-shirts, particular types of jewelry, large or baggy clothing, clothes with pockets, visible undergarments, strapless shirts, or other boys school uniforms sorts of clothes that the school administrators deem inappropriate or distracting. Uniform policies are generally more restrictive and require students wear a specific color and style of clothing-sometimes even dictating where the garments has to be bought. In some schools, however, dress codes entail a lot of rules that they are almost as restrictive as uniform policies and may require only solid colors or polo-style shirts. Both dress codes and uniform prerequisites have been contested in court. Some have even landed from the U.S. Supreme Court.