School Uniforms: Should They Be Required in Public Schools? Essay

In addition to the apparent bullying over style trends and choices, another issue that could be eliminated through the incorporation of uniforms is the lessening of disciplinary action directed towards students for dress code violations. Almost daily, students are sent to the office for dress code checks which are most often handled by the vice principal or principal. Students are commonly sent for checks based on the following items that are considered questionable: midriff revealing tops, ripped and low-rise jeans, short skirts and shorts, exposed shoulders and necklines and spandex for the girls. Additionally, there are ill-fitting jeans and inappropriate slogans on t-shirts and sweatshirts for the boys to contend with. A uniform policy would eliminate the need for dress code checks, which would enable the vice principal and principal to concentrate on more important issues within the high school. Furthermore, uniforms would ensure that students are buying their clothing from a uniform supply

In the Washington Post newspaper article stated the claim of how uniform policy swept U.S. in the school year of 2011-2012 to improve academics for the lacking students. Chandler says that according to federal data 20 percent of school districts made it necessary for students to wear uniforms. The uniform take-over caught the attention of researcher and educators of the benefits surrounding uniforms between high and low poverty school.

High Schools who have implement school uniforms have provided results that they bring unity and equality within a school. This has gained attention of many district schools who have been looking for a solution with these types of results. A prime showcase for this is scholar Attillah Brookshire (2016) who researched why advocates have shown support for uniforms. The advocates concluded how that when uniforms were implanted in their school district they became a social and economic equalizer. They also reduce competition of expensive clothing so parents don 't have to buy the expensive top brands, allowing children to learn, clothing should not be what defines a person. Brookshire 's studies showed how these statements are not just theories but actual facts. The school that acquired uniforms was up 4.70 in a more supported climate compared to the 4.45 in a non-uniform school. Student fights also were lower in the school that

Long Beach, a suburb of Los Angeles, intended to reduce crime through their uniform policy and at the conclusion of policies the first year they reported fighting incidents at the schools fell 51 percent, drug use declined by 69 percent, and crimes involving weapons dropped 52 percent (Time, 1995). Today, the Long Beach Unified School District has mandatory school uniform polices in place at seventy-seven schools serving roughly 70,000 students in grades K-12 (LB Schools, n.d.). The uniforms have also been attributed to better grades and higher achievement. Chris Eftychiou, spokesman for the Long Beach Unified School District, says that since uniforms were adopted 20 years ago, the district has also seen gains in other areas including student achievement, state test scores, and higher attendance (Nittle, 2014). Following Long Beach’s success with unifroms, other urban school districts have been making the transition to uniforms, which now make up approximately one fifth of all student dress attire nationwide (NCES, 2014). While the focus for school uniforms has been on reducing crime in urban areas, the data from urban districts highlight other unexpected but positive benefits that are equally applicable to suburban

Is the absence of school uniforms leading to an up rise of violence between children in public schools? According to the National School Safety Center’s Report on School Associated Violent Deaths, “Since the 1992-1993 school year, two-hundred seven were shooting victims” (Kelly n pag). According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), “10% of all public schools had one or more serious violent crimes (murder, rape, sexual battery, suicide, physical attack or fight with a weapon, or robbery), and most of the serious violent crimes occurred in the middle and high schools” (Kelly n pag).

One of the greatest controversies that is spreading throughout high schools in the United States is parents and their children against the enforcement of their school’s uniform policy. More schools have been adopting uniform policies within the past decade. Rules contained in the policy that are implemented range from wearing certain types of tops (shirts) in specified colors to students being required to tuck in their shirts. In the past, uniforms were exclusively for students who attended private schools because they were “well-off”, but now uniforms are being seen more frequently in public schools on students of all economic levels. Having gone through a school system that considered adopting a uniform policy, I would have to press

Furthermore, the main focus of schools is altered when school uniforms are enforced. Instead of focusing more on the education of students, most schools tend to make dress code policies as the main focus. Schools who favor the school uniform policy believe that it will improve academic achievement. However, there is not much research and evidence that proves their belief as a fact. One research that was proven to show

This is also a reason a majority of school districts in the United States have adopted school uniform policies. Another reason they have adopted the policies is because the school boards believe the uniforms will reduce the crime rate, improve student behavior, and increase student achievement in

School uniforms lower gang violence since students can’t group up and dress in some particular ways, and visitors can be distinguished from other students. They also help reduce bullying in public high schools. According to Kathleen C. and Carl A. Cohn’s “School Improvement Initiatives in Long Beach, California: The Quest for Higher Student Achievement, Behavior, and Dress Standards” in Education magazine, which was published on December 22, 1998, Long

The first point of why all public schools should adopt a school uniform policy is uniforms save the family money. In 1999 the NPD group conducted a survey and found that families whose children went to a school with a uniform policy spent $85 less than families whose children did not. (Pike, 1999). This is sixteen years later after that survey was conducted so the figure today will be in the hundreds as status symbol clothes prices are on the rise every year. There

The main reason for implanting a school uniform policy would be that it increases the safety for the children at school. Gang violence in schools is at an all time high. In 1989, a high school student from Baltimore was shot and wounded in a fight over a pair of sunglasses that cost $95.00. Since this incident educators started restricting what students could wear. (Brunsma, 2006) By doing this, the violence in the school has decreased. According to Holly Charlonne with Life Script, she states that gangs have a need to wear a certain color to distinguish them from other neighborhood gangs. If our children are required to wear a uniform, this will lessen the chance of any possibility of violence out break at school associated with gangs. (Charlonne, 2007) Since everyone will have on the same colors, the uniforms may be viewed as a way to bring the children closer together by having the same effect as would sport uniforms. The decrease

In 1995 LBUSD schools had the option to decide on whether they wanted school uniform. Statistically schools with uniform in LBUSD dropped school fighting by 38%. This is good because high schools with very ethnically diverse areas such as

When students wear uniforms, students do not improve in any way. Student’s academic scores do not go higher when they wear a uniform. Researcher Virginia Draa found that “implementing a uniform policy in schools did not have any impact on academic performance”. If schools are hoping for their student’s academic scores to go higher by implementing uniforms, they would be better off without uniforms. Wearing uniforms don’t help a student’s attitude. A 2010 study in a large urban school district in the Southwest found that asking students to wear uniforms did not result in any change in the number of suspensions for elementary school students. Student’s behavior won’t change, if schools wanted to implement uniform. Uniforms don’t have any positive impact on students,

Jessica Portner, a writer for Education Week, agreed with President Clinton in her February 14, 1996 article entitled “Uniforms Get Credit for Decrease in Discipline Problems.” Using statistical evidence from the aforementioned Long Beach school system

At first glance, the only winners in the topic of school uniform policy are the uniform companies and the retail establishments that sell them. The idea of mandatory uniform requirements is repugnant and unpalatable to many Americans. It stifles students’ freedom and forces conformity on our most impressionable citizens, children. However, violence in our schools was the impetus for uniform policy adoption. It gained momentum following a sharp spike in the number of violent incidents in schools over designer sunglasses, sneakers and jackets in the latter half of the 1980’s. Because of public outcry and response at the