School Uniforms challenged across the US

[Mr. Authority]

Ironing out policies on school uniforms


Their complaint: The policies trample students' right of expression and parents' right to raise children without government interference, says Vickie Crager, founder of Asserting Parental Rights — it's Our Duty, a parents rights group that opposes school uniforms.

Parents Laura and Scott Bell filed suit over an Anderson, Ind., uniform plan that will begin when students return to school Aug. 20. A hearing was scheduled today in federal court in Indianapolis.

The Anderson policy requires black, navy or khaki pants or skirts and a solid-color shirt with a collar.

"As a parent, we felt our rights were being violated," says Laura Bell. They have five children, ages 5 to 17.
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The Bells' suit makes two claims: that the uniform requirement violates their children's constitutional right of free expression and that it violates the guarantee of a free public education. The Bells would have to pay $641 for five sets of pants and shirts required by the policy, Laura Bell says.

About one in four public elementary schools and one in eight public middle and high schools in the USA have policies dictating what a student wears to school, says David Brunsma, a sociologist who wrote Uniforms in Public Schools: A Decade of Research and Debate in 2005.

Private schools first imported the British tradition of student uniforms to mark a student's social status, Brunsma says. Urban public schools began to adopt uniforms in the late 1980s to reduce social pressure from fashion-savvy students.

The idea spread to suburban and rural schools when President Clinton said uniforms make schools more orderly. As the trend grew, so did the opposition, Brunsma says.

Charles Rubright, lawyer for the Anderson school district, says the board expects uniforms to improve academic performance by eliminating distracting clothing and creating an orderly atmosphere.

Cyndi Regis of Congress, Ariz., says her son, Story Stringfellow, 9, doesn't wear anything inappropriate to Congress Elementary School. He wants to wear his Phoenix Suns T-shirts and jeans, she says, but he'll be required to wear a polo shirt and khaki or navy shorts or pants starting today.

"We teach him to be himself and we encourage it," Regis says. "He's not out of line with what he wants to wear."

Toni Wayas, principal and superintendent of the Congress school and district, says parents suggested the policy and most families support it.

Most lawsuits against school uniforms fail, says David Hudson, a First Amendment scholar at the First Amendment Center in Nashville. Judges usually decide that uniform policies are meant to improve schools and not to suppress student speech, he says.

The Supreme Court has not ruled on school uniforms, Hudson says.

Other lawsuits are pending:

•Bayonne, N.J. A group of parents have appealed a dismissal of their challenge to a uniform requirement of khaki bottoms and navy tops. Their lawyer plans to file a case brief Aug. 13. A judge ruled last year that the suit was not filed in time. School officials have said the uniforms foster school spirit, self-respect and self-discipline.

•Napa County, Calif. On July 2, a judge temporarily banned the enforcement of a middle school dress code while a suit challenging its constitutionality heads to trial. Under the code, students may wear only solid-color clothing with no logos or stripes. The code was designed to eliminate gang insignia, says Mike Pearson, principal of Redwood Middle School.

Others who object to uniforms and strict dress codes make their case outside the courtroom. Nashville parents created Metro Parents Against Standard School Attire after the school board announced plans for uniforms this spring.

"We perceive it as an educational fad," says Ashley Crownover, the group's spokeswoman. She says research does not support claims that uniforms increase safety or improve academic performance.

Some members of the group are considering suing or encouraging their children not to wear uniforms when school starts Aug. 13, Crownover says.

"We expect our school systems to do a lot, but this is taking it too far," she says. "That's my job — to help my children learn what is and isn't appropriate clothing."

Ironing out policies on school uniforms - USATODAY.com

My opinion is this, school uniforms don't do shit. Just because every student will wear the same type of clothing does'nt mean that bullying or fighting will stop. School boards need to stop blaming stupid shit on their schools' problems and start figuring how to spend for their school apporiately finding soultions that don't involve limiting a kid's choice to wear clothes and whatnot.

Besides school uniforms cost just as much as the name brand stuff so what's the point?

[A*O]

Ironing out policies on school uniforms - USATODAY.com

My opinion is this, school uniforms don't do shit.

I couldn't disagree more. School is for learning, not a fashion competition and wearing uniform does give students a sense of belonging to their school community as well as being representatives of their school. I also think it encourages kids to take some kind of care and pride in their appearance. And as a parent I can say that it reduces the laundry bill in this house substantially if the kids don't wear a new 'cool' outfit every day. And it doesn't have to be a whole expensive wardrobe of expensive uniform items - many schools around here just ask that their students wear, say, a red poloshirt or teeshirt with dark blue pants, skirt or shorts in the summer. One of our local high schools has a no uniform policy and to see the motley crew of scruffy goths, emos, hookers, stoners slouching out of the place at 3pm would be depressing if they didn't look so fucking ridiculous.

School uniform seems to be particularly common in Australia, more so than the UK and I dare say a lot more so than the US. Some are very elaborate (usually the private schools) but most have some kind of 'dress code' even if it's not a formal uniform.

[darksithbunny]

I wish our schools would do it. I am so tired of having either to take my daughter a change of something because they just didn't like what she was wearing. The first time it was because of her skirt being too short. She had those tight leggings that skinny people can wear with short shirts? Well, anyways, she had those underneath the skirt. Know what the vp said to me? We would rather she take the skirt off and wear those. My mouth fell to the floor. I said you would see her asscrack and everything else! GEEZ. The last time it was for her $150 jeans her stupid father bought her. They were too much and we don't try to make "fashion statments here". I totally agree! And even BEGGED for them to change to mandatory uniforms.

Just would be so much easier for me, I swear.

[Sleuth]

i actually liked having a school uniform... it took away the stress of having to think about what i was going to wear to school everyday. I don't think i could learn in an environment where the girls are in a competitive fashion show everyday.

[misskris]

i also enjoyed my school uniform. it's a bit of a bummer if you're not used to it but it's so easy in the morning. i still had tonnes of clothes growing up, and i really enjoyed rolling out of bed and knowing exactly what to put on.

uniforms in schools wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

[A*O]

This is a pretty standard elementary public school uniform in Australia:


A standard public/private highschool girls summer uniform:


Boys/girls in their winter uniforms:

[Tati]

I would have loved to have a uniform. And I say that as someone who, as a kid, LOVED to express myself through clothing and come up with some damn creative outfits. It would have been so much easier, and I think kids nowadays could stand to see school as a professional environment that's to be respected - just the act of "dressing up" for something can foster that kind of perception of it, in my opinion.

I can understand if not everyone agrees, but where do these parents get off complaining about the cost of the five days worth of "uniform" clothes? They do realize they would have to dress their kids in something for those five days regardless?

I just don't get how one sues over this. A given school has certain policies. You don't like them, bloody don't send your kids there. Or complain, protest, sure. but why exactly are they owed money?

[analyzer]

Well in the Caribbean we wore uniforms and I think most people there would agree that it much easier than having to look for something to wear everyday. University was the first time I didn't wear a uniform. Plus it works out to be cheaper because usually, school becomes a fashion show involving designer labels and brand names which aren't cheap.

Wearing your own clothes does create a distraction for students cause it places additional emphasize on appearance and creates greater division among the 'haves and have-nots'. I realised this among my friends and family that went to public US schools versus the ones who went to private schools. I found my self quite lucky to have worn a uniform cause it provided me with soo many more options when I would go out partying etc.

[Mr. Authority]

I still think school uniforms is a useless soultion to bullying. Kids are still going to be picked on regardless of what they wear and that's a sad fact. Again schools should focus more on getting their schools funded and ensuring a good education. It's fine to restrict short skirts and gang-related shirts, but making people buy slacks and plaid skirts are'nt the solution to all that. get the parents involved, have stricter punishments for bullies and vandals, and raise money for the school; those are better solutions IMO.

[A*O]

I certainly don't think that lack of a school uniform actually causes bullying, although it might be yet another reason to pick on someone who isn't wearing the 'cool' items of clothing that particular week or semester. There's plenty of bullying here in schools with strict uniform rules. But the reasons for having a school uniform far outweigh the reasons not to have one IMO. If kiddies want to 'express their individuality' they can do it on the weekend or during school holidays, or when they leave school, get a job and buy their own damn clothes LOL. I know that my kids just love to slide out of bed, shower, put on the uniform and go without thinking about "oh my God, what should I wear today?"

[Picara]

^^I totally agree. I wore uniforms up until college. Sometimes I would wish for a free dress policy, but over-all it was one less thing to worry about. Now as a parent, I totally appreciate uniforms. There is no drama about what to wear in the morning. My kids have quite a few free dress days, so they're not always in uniforms. I think it levels the playing field as well. People stand out for their intelligence and personality, not their clothes.

[ya-ya_sister]

I see both sides of the issue. As a parent of a special needs child, the uniform is very uncomfortable. He would feel much more comfortable in clothing made of soft fabric. A uniform also does not disguise the fact that he is very handicapped. You are still going to have cliques. As an educator, uniforms would make my job much easier. I have better things to do than to check each student to make sure they are within code. I also get tired of the "I'm in code when I get to the office but change it when I leave" game. For example, I might send a student to the office for a low cut shirt to go change. Student puts a jacket on between my room and the office. The office ok's the shirt and student takes jacket off between the office and my room. Like I said, I have better things to do than to play that game-and they know how to work it.

[A*O]

LOL Well I think all of us who wore school uniforms knew how to bend the rules. Our skirt length had to be ON the knee - not 1" above or below. We followed that rule while on campus but as soon as we were out of the gates we used to roll the waistband over and over and voila! Totally hot bottle green and yellow plaid mini skirt. We thought we looked SO cool and so did the pervy old men who used to lurk in the undergrowth behind the tennis courts LOL

[buttmunch]

The problem with school uniforms is that they're generally ugly as shit. I mean, look at those high school girls wearing bloody mary janes and andle socks. That could scar a kid for life.

My kids will be wearing uniforms for the first time this year and I have to say that besides them being bloody expensive they're going to look like complete dorks. I've rarely seen anything as hideous.

[A*O]

But that's the whole point? They aren't supposed to be glamorous and EVERYBODY looks like a 'dork'. It's a great equalizer in the dining hall, the locker room and the playground.

Edit Attempt #2: My kids go to a big private school where there's a complete cross-section of kids from all kinds of backgrounds. There's the rich dumb kids whose parents don't think twice about spending $50 per year on school fees, to poor smart kids who are there on scholarships whose parents want them to have the educational advantages they probably didn't. But if you look around you would never guess which is which and that's why uniforms are a Good Thing IMO.