Dress Code/Uniforms
Read more about school dress codes and uniform policies. Do they improve student achievement or school climate? Are they sexist or racist?
School Dress Code Debates, Explained
What are they, who do they serve, and do they need to be changed?
Education
Dress Code Cart
Always on the cutting edge, Hobo Teacher's high school implements a "dress code cart." You don't want to know ...
Education
Dressing Teachers
Nashville’s 75,000 public school students must now adhere to a strict dress code. Collared shirts are mandatory; hoodies and jeans are no longer acceptable. But what about teachers? Nashville parent Rebecca Willocks thinks there’s a double standard. "I saw a teacher’s navel piercing last year and was surprised," she says. "Students can’t get away with that." Nashville’s school board doesn’t think teachers should either. They’ve suggested a teacher dress code, but some, including the union, think it’s excessive. Lisa Soronen, an attorney with the National School Boards Association in Alexandria, Va., says, "Having a dress code for everyone is kind of overkill when a simple conversation with a co-worker and administrator or chair might be appropriate..."
Education
Opinion
Dress Blues
Upon reading “Clothes-Minded” [Current Events, May/June], I’ve determined one real benefit that was not mentioned in the research by David Brunsma.
Education
Dress Codes for Teachers, TV Trouble, And a Place Called Sanctuary
Our take on education news from around the Web, June 24-July 7.
Education
A National Roundup
Fla. Girl Wearing Boys’ Clothes Won’t Be Pictured in Yearbook
Principal Sam Ward of Fleming Island High School in Clay County, Fla., pulled a lesbian student’s picture from the school yearbook because she wore boys’ clothes in her senior photo.
Education
Letter to the Editor
School Uniforms Reduce Distractions, Aid Safety
Re: Your research article “Uniform Effects?” Having spent a great deal of time in Catholic education and research, I find the following statement by Robert E. Blau to be without merit: “Clothing is an expression in and of itself. When everyone looks the same, they start acting the same, and you lose your sense of individuality.”
Law & Courts
Court OKs Ky. District's Dress Code
A federal appeals court last week upheld against a First Amendment challenge a Kentucky school district’s student dress code that prohibits many fashions popular with teenagers and preteens: baggy pants, bluejeans, “distressed” clothing, unnaturally colored hair, and body piercings except those in ears.
School Climate & Safety
Uniform Effects?
Despite conventional wisdom touting the benefits of student uniforms, researchers see little evidence of their effectiveness.
Law & Courts
Okla. District, Muslim Student Dispute Head Scarf
Nashala Hearn, a 6th grader who attends the 400-student Benjamin Franklin Science Academy in Muskogee, Okla., was suspended for a total of eight days this month for violating the district's dress code. The girl's parents said she wore the veil for religious reasons, and they have threatened to sue the district.
School Climate & Safety
District Dress Code Attracts Nationwide Attention
A small Texas school district is making national news for suspending more than 700 students in the first month of classes for violating a dress code.
Law & Courts
Court Throws Out Lawsuit in Uniform Fracas
When the Mount Carmel Area School District in eastern Pennsylvania adopted a strict dress code for its elementary school in 2000, it did not sit well with some of the district parents.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Dress Codes and Social Chaos
When it comes to student dress, writes John Northrop, schools need to set some limits on individualism.
School Climate & Safety
Dress Codes Target Risqué Styles
Many schools across the country are tightening their dress codes, with the skin-is-in female fashions inspired by teen idols like Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez attracting special attention.