Schools, parents, and students frequently clash over the issue of regulating what students may and may not wear to school. These controversies often pegged to the culture war of the moment touch on everything from gender and sexuality to politics, race, and religion. In 2021, a group of about 50 students in Georgia for being discriminatory against BIPOC girls by wearing t-shirts every Friday emblazoned with the words 鈥渟exist,鈥 鈥渞acist,鈥 and 鈥渃lassist.鈥 In 2022, a fight between students, staff, and police officers when hats and hoodies were banned as part of a revision by the school board to the school鈥檚 dress code. And in 2023, two Michigan middle schoolers, via their mother, after they were banned from wearing 鈥淟et鈥檚 Go Brandon鈥 sweatshirts.
Are school uniforms the best solution to this contentious debate? If every student is wearing the same outfit, will a host of campus problems be solved? Researchers are divided over how much of an impact — if any — dress policies have on student learning., but the argument wears on, with a list of pros and cons on each side.
Why do some public schools have uniforms?
In the 1980s, public schools were often compared unfavorably to Catholic schools. Noting the perceived benefit that uniforms conferred upon Catholic schools, some public schools decided to adopt a school uniform policy. President Clinton provided momentum to the school uniform movement when he said in his 1996 State of the Union speech, 鈥淚f it means teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms.鈥
This led to substantial growth in the use of uniforms in U.S. public schools. In 2021鈥22, according to , nearly 20% of public elementary schools and around 9% of public high schools required students to wear uniforms.
The pros and cons of school uniforms
According to proponents, school uniforms:
- Deter gang-related activity Encourage discipline鈥
- Help students resist peer pressure to buy trendy clothes鈥
- Help identify intruders in the school鈥
- Reduce economic and social barriers between students鈥
- Increase a sense of belonging and school pride鈥
- Improve attendance
Opponents contend that school uniforms:
- Violate a student鈥檚 right to freedom of expression鈥
- Are simply a Band-Aid on the issue of school violence鈥
- Make students a target for bullies from other schools鈥
- Are a financial burden for poor families鈥
- Are an unfair additional expense for parents who pay taxes for a free public education鈥
- Are difficult to enforce in public schools
Uniforms vs. dress codes
Schools and districts vary widely in how closely they adhere to the concept of uniformity.
What鈥檚 a dress code?
Generally, dress codes are more relaxed than uniform policies. Sometimes, however, dress codes are quite strict with requirements that are potentially viewed as biased based on race or gender. In 2020, two Black male students in Texas, cousins with West Indian heritage, were in supposed violation of the district鈥檚 hair and grooming policy, part of the dress code. The elder one, a senior, was told he couldn鈥檛 attend prom or graduation until his hair was trimmed. In 2022, girls on the track team at an Albany, NY high school were bras at practice.
Uniforms are certainly than dress codes, largely because the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) can be depended upon to protect a student鈥檚 鈥渞ight to express themselves.鈥 The ACLU believes dress codes are often used to 鈥渟hame girls, force students to conform to gender stereotypes鈥 punish students who wear political and countercultural messages. Such policies can be used as cover for racial discrimination鈥 Dress codes can also infringe on a student鈥檚 religious rights…鈥 To successfully enforce a dress code, insists the ACLU, the school must prove the student鈥檚 attire, 鈥渋s disruptive to school activities.鈥
The ACLU鈥檚 dress code stance is . A 2023 lower court ruling in North Carolina to school. ACLU lawyers argued this violated Title IX because the dress code 鈥渄iscriminated against female students by limiting their ability to fully participate in school activities, such as using the playground.鈥 The U.S. Supreme Court later declined to take up a case challenging the lower court鈥檚 ruling.
What鈥檚 a uniform?
Most public school uniforms in the US are casual, with a for boys consisting of a polo shirt in a solid color and pants in khaki, black, or navy blue. A girl鈥檚 uniform is often a skirt and a white buttoned-up shirt. Dress shoes may be required for both genders.
In the United States, the cost of a standard uniform ranges from $25 to $200 according to , an ecommerce platform that aggregates industry data. The cost is sometimes because public education is intended to be free, paid for with tax dollars, and because the cost of school uniforms may be a greater burden for lower income families. 鈥
What research says about school uniforms
In 2006, Virginia Draa, professor at Youngstown State University, at 64 public high schools that had larger percentages of economically disadvantaged and minority students than other urban schools. Her conclusion surprised her: 鈥淚 really went into this thinking uniforms don鈥檛 make a difference, but I came away seeing that they do鈥 I was absolutely floored.鈥 Her analysis determined that the schools with uniforms improved their students鈥 attendance, and graduation rates rose an average of almost 11 percent.
In 2022, Ohio State University and University of Pennsylvania researchers reached a different conclusion in a study titled 鈥溾 Their review of data from more than 6,000 elementary school students, found no conclusive evidence that school uniforms improve behavior and attendance. However they did find 鈥渟ome indication that low-income students in schools that required uniforms demonstrated better school attendance than low-income students in schools that did not.鈥
What do students think about uniforms?
A student discussion: pros and cons of uniforms
Editor鈥檚 note: This video is part of our high school milestones series about communication skills. The students in this video discuss the pros and cons of school uniforms.
A University of Nevada, Reno, survey of 1,848 middle school students, published in 2022, revealed that . Only 30 percent believed the uniforms 鈥渕ight reduce discipline issues, a mere 17 percent thought the uniform helped them focus at school, 34 percent believed their school was safer due to the uniforms and 37 percent said, 鈥淚 worry less about my appearance鈥 due to the uniform requirement.鈥
An earlier study, also in Nevada, displayed similar unpopularity with newly instituted uniforms among middle school students. However, when the researchers looked into school discipline and local police records and compared them to the prior year鈥檚 data, discipline referrals were down 10 percent, there were 63 percent fewer police log reports, and incidences of graffiti, fights, and gang-related activity were all down.
It鈥檚 a big issue
The debate over uniforms in public schools encompasses many larger issues than simply what children should wear to school. It touches on issues of school improvement, freedom of expression, and hot-button culture wars. It鈥檚 no wonder the debate rages on.
