School uniforms restrict students' freedom of expression. The First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees that all individuals have the right to express themselves freely. The US Supreme Court stated in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (7-2, 1969) that "it can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."[28] [8] In the 1970 caseRichards v. Thurston (3-0), which revolved around a boy refusing to have his hair cut shorter, the US First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that "compelled conformity to conventional standards of appearance" does not "seem a justifiable part of the educational process."[39] Clothing choices are "a crucial form of self-expression," according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, which also stated that "allowing students to choose their clothing is an empowering message from the schools that a student is a maturing person who is entitled to the most basic self-determination." [17]Clothing is also a popular means of expressing support for various social causes and compulsory uniforms largely remove that option. In Oct. 2013, students at Friendly High School in Prince George's County, MD, were not allowed to wear pink shirts to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As a result, 75 students received in-school suspensions for breaking the school's uniform restrictions. [11]
School uniforms promote conformity over individuality. At a time when schools are encouraging an appreciation of diversity, enforcing standardized dress sends a contradictory message.[63] Chicago junior high school student Kyler Sumter wrote in theHuffington Post: "They decide to teach us about people like Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony and Booker T. Washington... We learn about how these people expressed themselves and conquered and we can't even express ourselves in the hallways." [60] Troy Shuman, a senior in Harford County, MD, said the introduction of a mandatory uniform policy to his school would be "teaching conformity and squelching individual thought. Just think of prisons and gangs. The ultimate socializer to crush rebellion is conformity in appearance. If a school system starts at clothes, where does it end?" [9]Late satirist George Carlin asked, "Don't these schools do enough damage, making all these children think alike? Now they're gonna get them to look alike, too?" [40]
There is evidence that school uniforms may increase violent attacks and lower academic achievement, while there is little evidence that uniforms provide any benefits at all. A 2007 peer-reviewed study found that "school uniforms increased the average number of assaults by about 14 [per year] in the most violent schools." [26] A 1999 Texas Southern University study found that school discipline incidents rose by about 12% after the introduction of uniforms.[14] According to the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Office of Education Evaluation and Management, fights in middle schools nearly doubled within one year of introducing mandatory uniforms. [72] [73] David L. Brunsma, PhD, Professor of Sociology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), co-authored a study that analyzed a national sample of 10th graders and found "no effects of uniforms on absenteeism, behavioral problems (fights, suspensions, etc.), or substance use on campus" and "no effects" on "pro-school attitudes, academic preparedness, and peer attitudes toward school." [14] [66] Brunsma also found a "negativeeffect of uniforms on academic achievement," and later found that uniforms were equally ineffective on elementary students and eighth graders. [14] A 2009 peer-reviewed study found "no significant effects of school uniforms on performance on second grade reading and mathematics examinations, as well as on 10th-grade reading, mathematics, science, and history examinations... [I]n many of the specifications, the results are actually negative." [2]
The key findings used to tout the benefits of uniforms are questionable.The oft-quoted improvements to school safety and student behavior in the Long Beach (CA) Unified School District from 1993-1995 may not have resulted from the introduction of school uniforms. The study in which the findings were published cautioned that "it is not clear that these results are entirely attributable to the uniform policy" and suggests that the introduction of new school security measures made at the same time may have been partly responsible. [64]Other reform efforts implemented alongside the uniform policy included a $1 million project to develop alternative teaching strategies. [66]
School uniforms emphasize the socioeconomic divisions they are supposed to eliminate. Most public schools with uniform policies are in poor neighborhoods, emphasizing the class distinctions that uniforms were supposed to eliminate. In 2013, while 47% of high-poverty public schools required school uniforms, only 6% of low-poverty public schools required them, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. [23] Even school uniform proponent Angela Walmsley, Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research in the College of Education and Public Service at Saint Louis University, concedes that "we’re creating a culture where parents think that a public school where children wear uniforms is an unsafe place to send their child. In other words, school uniforms in public schools are becoming associated with schools facing violence problems."[41] Even within one school, uniforms cannot conceal the differences between the "haves" and the "have-nots." David L. Brunsma, PhD, stated that "more affluent families buy more uniforms per child. The less affluent... they have one... It's more likely to be tattered, torn and faded. It only takes two months for socioeconomic differences to show up again." [9] Uniforms also emphasize racial divisions. Schools with a minority student population of 50% or more are four times as likely to require uniforms than schools with a minority population of 20-49%, and 24 times more likely than schools with minority populations of 5%-19%. [78]
Students oppose school uniforms. A 2012 peer-reviewed study by researchers at the University of Nevada at Reno found that 90% of seventh and eighth grade public school students did not like wearing uniforms. [25] A 2007 survey of Harford County, MD public school students found that 87.9% of the students were opposed to uniforms. [9] In the year following the introduction of mandatory school uniforms to the Long Beach (CA) Unified School District, 81% of middle school students said uniforms did not reduce fights, 76% said they did not help them fit in at school, 69% said they did not make them feel more connected with the school community, and 71% said they felt no safer traveling to and from school. [64]
Uniforms may have a detrimental effect on students' self-image. When students have to wear the same outfits, rather than being allowed to select clothes that suit their body types, they can suffer embarrassment at school. Child and teen development specialist Robyn Silverman told NBC News' Today that students, especially girls, tend to compare how each other looks in their uniforms: "As a body image expert, I hear from students all the time that they feel it allows for a lot of comparison... So if you have a body that’s a plus-size body, a curvier body, a very tall body, a very short body, those girls often feel that they don’t look their best." [21] A 2003 study by researchers at Arizona State University found that "students from schools without uniforms reported higher self-perception scores than students from schools with uniform policies." [24]Some students also find uniforms less comfortable than their regular clothes, which may not be conducive to learning. [75]
Focusing on uniforms takes attention away from finding genuine solutions to problems in education. Spending time and effort implementing uniform policies may detract from more effective efforts to reduce crime in schools and boost student performance. More substantive improvements to public education could be achieved with smaller class sizes, tightened security, increased parental involvement, improved facilities, and other measures.[12] [14] Tom Houlihan, former Superintendent of Schools in Oxford, NC, stated that school uniforms "are a distraction from focusing on systematic and fundamental transformation to improve our schools." [42]
The push for school uniforms is driven by commercial interests rather than educational ones.Americans spend around $1 billion on school uniforms every year. [43][74] Retailer J.C. Penney Co. says school uniforms are "a huge, important business for us." [44]In 2003 alone, uniform company Lands' End spent $3 million on marketing efforts directed at public schools and districts. [14]Multiple studies used to promote the effectiveness of uniforms were partly funded by Lands' End, and at least one of those studies is "so wholly flawed as to render itself useless," according to David L. Brunsma, PhD. [14] [32] In Aug. 2013, Reuters reported that retailers were "sensing their opportunity... stepping up competition in the uniform aisles and online. Walmart has set up 'uniform shops' or temporary boutiques within some stores." [74]
Parents should be free to choose their children's clothes without government interference. One of the founders of the Wilson County (LA) Parents Coalition, Richard Dashkovitz, stated: "It's time we let the government know that we are fed up with this. Quit dictating to us what my child should wear... [T]he government is intruding into our private lives, roles as parents and the lives of our children." [16]According to another parents' rights group, Asserting Parental Rights — It's Our Duty, mandatory uniform "policies trample parents' right to raise children without government interference." [