School Uniform Policies example essay topic

... port for uniform programs, not everyone has welcomed them. Some are skeptical of the claims that uniforms actually cause the improvements cited by proponents. David L. Brunsma and Kerry A. Rockquemore (1998) call attention to several other LBS UD programs that were implemented simultaneously with the uniform policy, including a reassessment of content standards, a million dollar grant to develop alternative pedagogical strategies, and the Focused Reporting Project. Compared to those efforts, requiring uniforms is a visible but relatively superficial change. Concerned that school administrators seem to focus exclusively on uniforms, Brunsma and Rockquemore suggest that attention to this simple change 'renews an interest on the parts of parents and communities and provides possibilities for supporting additional types of organizational change' (p. 60). On the whole, however, they regard uniforms as symptomatic of a 'quick-fix' mentality and do not appear optimistic about the likelihood of support for more substantial reforms that may be 'costly and demand energy and a willingness to change on the part of school faculty and parents' (p. 60).

Calling the widespread public discussions of uniforms a 'diversion,' Loren Siegel (1996) is still more outspoken on this point: 'We need to be very cynical about political leaders who promote uniforms in the face of crumbling school buildings, overcrowded classrooms, and dwindling educational funds' (p. 39). The other major objection to school uniforms is the concern that requiring a student to wear a school uniform violates that student's free speech rights. That is the position of such organizations as the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (2000), which emphatically tells students that 'school uniform policies do violate your First Amendment rights. ' Court decisions concerning uniforms have been more complex. Although a number of lawsuits have addressed First Amendment rights in connection with restrictive dress codes, only a few have been filed about mandatory uniforms in public schools.

The first ruling involving uniforms, a 1995 case from Maricopa County, Arizona, upheld the school's policy. On the basis of a 1988 Supreme Court decision that distinguished public schools from other open public forums, the judge found that, even though the mandatory uniform requirement did 'regulate free expression,' the reasons for that policy were 'appropriate matters of concern to the School Board and that the policy itself [was] reasonable' (as cited in Pali okas, Fut rell, & Rist, 1996, p. 33). A more recent Louisiana case broadened the concern beyond First Amendment issues. After the Bossier Parish School Board mandated school uniforms for the 1999-2000 school year, a group of forty parents sued the school board. In addition to claiming that this policy violated students' First Amendment rights to free speech, they argued that it failed to respect religious differences, created an undue financial burden that effectively excluded some students from the free education guaranteed by the state constitution, and violated the Fourteenth Amendment by denying students' freedom of choice.

The district court in which the case was tried ruled in favor of the school board, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently upheld that decision. Although the decision issued by the latter court does not cite the Maricopa case, the line of reasoning concerning First Amendment rights is essentially the same. The decision issued by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledges that the First Amendment 'applies to the students' choice of clothing' (Canady et al. vs. Bossier, 2001, section IIA) but maintains that this First Amendment protection 'is not absolute, especially in the public school setting' and that educators have 'an essential role in regulating school affairs and establishing appropriate standards of conduct' (section IIB). Reviewing a variety of precedents involving restrictive dress codes, the court noted that the Bossier Parish regulations were not aimed at specific viewpoints and that the policy was 'viewpoint-neutral on its face and as applied' (section IIC).

Concerning the claim that the uniform policy did not account for certain religious practices, the court did not base its decision on legal principles but dealt with the inadequacy of the evidence presented, noting that those bringing the charges 'have not established that the uniform policy has interfered with their right to free exercise of religion' (Canady et al. vs. Bossier, 2001, section IIC, note 7). This wording seems to leave open the possibility that a case might be made on this point, however. The claim that uniforms imposed an undue financial burden was similarly dismissed for lack of evidence, along with the comment that 'it is hard to imagine how the purchase of uniforms consisting of a certain color of shirt and pants could be any more expensive than the normal cost of a student's school clothes' (section ). Finally, the court did not pursue the question of Fourteenth Amendment rights, stating that, in this particular case, those rights were covered by First Amendment rights, which had not been abridged (section ). As these two court cases suggest, the legal question is not simple. Whereas both decisions clearly acknowledge that mandatory uniforms may violate First Amendment rights, the courts have not regarded those rights as absolute, particularly in public school settings.

In addition, since a uniform policy dictates what all students must wear rather than prohibiting selected items of clothing, its aim does not appear to be to prevent the expression of any particular viewpoint. Without completely resolving the question, then, one can conclude at least that a mandatory uniform policy is more consistent with First Amendment rights than a restrictive dress code is. Questions about the effectiveness of school uniforms are even more difficult to resolve. Most reports of improvements following the introduction of school uniforms quantify the changes, but they fail to examine whether the new policy is the real cause of the change. In addition, results are usually gathered at the first opportunity. Without any long-range data, it is impossible to know how much to attribute to the policy itself and how much to the attention that would come with the implementation of any new policy.

Certainly, the other new policies in the LB USD schools should be taken into account in assessing the changes that occurred there. Until more concrete information is available, the debate over school uniforms should not end. Work Cited American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. (2000). Know your rights: A manual for public school students in Pennsylvania.

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