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?

Explainer

School Dress Code Debates, Explained
What are they, who do they serve, and do they need to be changed?
School Climate & Safety Opinion School Uniforms: Leaning Toward the Spartans And Away From the Athenians
I can't help wondering whether it's a good idea to have our president beating the drum for putting uniforms on 45 million kids.
Harold Howe II, April 3, 1996
5 min read
Education Uniform Policy
Proponents of school-uniform policies got another boost in February, when President Clinton ordered the Department of Education to distribute a manual on the subject to the nation's 15,000 school districts.
Jessica Portner, April 1, 1996
2 min read
Education Dressed For Success
Linda Moore has been feeling especially proud lately. And she has President Clinton to thank. In his State of the Union Address, Clinton praised student uniforms as a way to promote safety and discipline in public schools. Moore, principal of Will Rogers Middle School in Long Beach, Calif., felt a particular satisfaction in the endorsement.
Jessica Portner, April 1, 1996
6 min read
School Climate & Safety Department To Issue Guidelines on School Uniforms
Proponents of school-uniform policies got another boost as President Clinton ordered the Department of Education to distribute manuals on the subject to the nation's 15,000 school districts.
Jessica Portner, March 6, 1996
3 min read
School Climate & Safety Suit Challenging Long Beach Uniform Policy Dropped
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California last week agreed to drop its lawsuit against a California school district after the district pledged to improve the way its mandatory school-uniform program was being implemented.
Jessica Portner, February 28, 1996
1 min read
School Climate & Safety Uniforms Get Credit for Decrease in Discipline Problems
In his State of the Union Address last month, Mr. Clinton praised student uniforms as a way to promote safety and discipline in public schools.
Jessica Portner, February 14, 1996
8 min read
Education Uniform Policy
A Phoenix middle school's mandatory-uniform policy does not violate students' First Amendment rights to free expression, even if the policy does not give students the option of not wearing uniforms, an Arizona state judge has ruled.
January 1, 1996
1 min read
Education Law Update: Judge Upholds Mandatory Uniforms at Phoenix School
A Phoenix middle school's mandatory-uniform policy does not violate students' First Amendment rights to free expression, even if the policy does not give students the option of not wearing uniforms, an Arizona state judge has ruled.
Mark Walsh & Karen Diegmueller, November 15, 1995
4 min read
Education Dade To Vote on Proposal To Require Uniforms
The Dade County, Fla., school board is scheduled to vote next week on a proposal that would allow schools in the nation's fourth-largest district to require students to wear uniforms.
Everett F. Boyd, March 15, 1995
3 min read
Education Districts: Oakland Board Approves Mandatory-Uniform Policy
The Oakland, Calif., school board will require elementary and middle school students to wear uniforms to school, beginning in the fall.
March 8, 1995
3 min read
Education Ill. Bill Clarifies Authority To Institute Dress Codes
Legislation that would give Illinois school districts formal authority to force students to wear uniforms to school has prompted complaints.
Debra Viadero, May 16, 1990
1 min read
Education Stricter Rules on Student Dress, Decorum Revive Familiar Civil-Liberties Questions
Hanna Murgatroyd, an El Paso, Tex., beautician, got a phone call from her son's school last month, warning that he would be suspended if he did not cut his hair. She told the assistant principal she would take care of it when she got home from work.
Lisa Jennings, October 18, 1989
13 min read
Education Policy on Uniforms Gives Rise to Job Program
The growing popularity of student uniforms in Baltimore public schools has boosted a community project aimed at training out-of-work local residents to make the garments.
Ellen Flax, May 25, 1988
4 min read
Education Public Schools' Students Sporting a Uniform Look This Fall
Four public elementary schools in Washington and Baltimore opened this fall with a new look that, by all indications, may spread to schools in several other urban systems.
Ellen Flax, November 4, 1987
4 min read