School UniformsEssay Preview: School UniformsReport this essaySchool UniformsSchool uniforms have been around for over a century in the private school sector of the United States. In the 1980s school officials in California began considering mandatory school uniforms in public schools as a way of decreasing gang related violence. The ensuing debate gained momentum in January of 1996 when President Clinton endorsed the idea in his State of the Union Address. The issue of requiring school uniforms in public schools is still a heated debate today.
Supporters credit the use of school uniforms as one factor in the reduction of the amount of violence occurring in schools. “A February 1996 survey by the National Association of Secondary School Principals found that 70% of middle and high school principals believed that uniforms reduced the number of discipline problems and violent incidents in school” (“Uniforms Rule”). “In Long Beach, California, where the nations first mandatory school uniform policy was implemented in the districts elementary and middle schools in 1994, officials reported a 36% decline in school-based crime within one year of the policies implementation” (Viadero). Several school officials believe that mandatory uniforms hinder gang violence by preventing the display of gang-related colors, symbols, and name brands. Many advocates also believe school uniforms help prevent crimes such as robbery, assault, and even murder that may occur over expensive clothing.
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In North Carolina, a law that would have increased the number of school uniforms in school districts from 75,000 in 1993 to 130,000 in the early 2000s, resulted in a reduction in the number of students under 18 and school-age boys. In other words, school-mandated uniforms reduce the number of problems that students face in school or by discouraging any activity involving people wearing inappropriate school-issued clothing and school-sponsored activities. The law was passed only because of a national outcry over the excessive use of public schools in school culture and behavior.
It appears that a number of the laws considered to increase the number of school uniform requirements that were adopted in the early 1990s, including the national version of the California School Uniform Rule, were based on assumptions that the California Department of Public Instruction was not collecting enough information from children’s parents to give proper action. While the Department of Educ. [Page 4]
In fact, as a result of its research of the California school uniform rules, it found that about one in five (37%) of school-sponsored activities that children participate in during high school in North Carolina have received the federal government’s “no school, no prayer, and no school day.” Additionally, the law required schools with fewer than 100 students to provide all students with the required school uniforms. Therefore, the Department of Education’s findings of its research strongly suggest that school uniforms and school sponsors did not reduce school violence and a decrease in school robbery, assault, and murder rates.
In March 1995, three antiabortion doctors and two pediatricians testified to a congressional committee in California that their study of the federal “no school, no prayer” law was misleading and unconstitutional. In their testimony, Dr. Stephen C. Haldeman testified that he had been given three copies of the “no school, no prayer” law, and that he concluded that those with no school-sponsored activities were more likely to engage in violent behavior. In their testimony, Dr. Haldeman said he believed that the school officials using the law did not take its information seriously and that the Department of Education is not collecting enough “information” about school-sponsored activity.
California has the highest concentration of no-school-sponsored activities and many nonreligious groups have been particularly alarmed by the law. The State Department of Children and Families, in an opinion column published in The Boston Globe in March 1995, stated:
No single religious group has demonstrated any less involvement in the implementation nor do any school district have substantially increased the amount of no-school-sponsored activity. In fact, according to a September 1998 report by the Pew Research Center, only a small fraction of parents who are in the public schools and who attended public Catholic institutions in the state say they have been told about no-school-sponsored activity. … In the Los Angeles area, where about 90% of children attend public schools, those parents are not told about the school in question. For example, nearly half (48%) of the parents who attended those seven public Catholic institutions have not been informed that their school does not accept non-school-sponsored activities, compared to 37% of parents who attended public Catholic schools in New Jersey over the same period. …
In an earlier 2001 report, the Committee on State Government (the Committee on Public Policy of the State Board of Equalization, in partnership with the Center for American Progress) reported: “The most significant factor suggesting that no such requirement exists is the fact that less than 5% of nonreligious parents in California have received an additional school year in the last two primary public school years. According to the report, less than 15% of nonreligious parents in California had received an additional primary school year last year.”
As a result, state law and practice suggest that an attempt to have
In addition to reducing school violence, supporters believe school uniforms raise students self-esteem. Some proponents say uniforms may lead to a reduction in peer pressure, teasing and bullying. Keith King of the University on Cincinnati published a study in which he states, “overall students in uniform felt more like a team. Students feel connected to the school and they feel like they fit in” (“Uniforms Rule”). Most parents and school officials agree that the desire to feel peer acceptance is a strong force that drives many of the actions of children. “Wearing uniforms acts as a social leveler; all students are equal in the eyes of the school and of each other. In institutions without uniforms students are often competitive in dress and worry endlessly about their appearance. Pupils without expensive, trendy clothes may become social outcasts”(qtd. in “The Debatabase Book”).”There is a societal history of students with lower income becoming subjected to teasing and bullying due to the appearance of their clothes. Proponents suggest that uniforms make income levels less visible which promotes social equality.
Moreover, several educators and researchers propose school uniforms have a positive effect on the students academic performance. Increased attendance and higher test scores are often credited to the use of uniforms. “Uniforms set the tone for a proper attitude toward school work” (Anderson 6). Uniforms do not allow the distraction of inappropriate attire to get in the way of the students concentration. Several supporters report that todays fashions are very revealing, therefore, causing the distraction of fellow students and in class disruptions. Proponents attribute students feelings of responsibility, pride, and safety to the uniforms. Many believe if the students dress better they will feel better, therefore, they will perform better.
Opponents of school uniforms suggest the uniforms impede the students freedom of speech. “A policy requiring students to wear a uniform, or any restrictive dress code, is another form of prior restraint in that it prevents students from expressing themselves through their clothes” (Imber and Van Geel 134). Many parents believe their childs individualism, creativity, and self expression are stifled by the restrictive nature of uniforms. “Some believe that school uniforms are analogous to prison uniforms and cause students to feel entrapped” (Anderson 8). Backing the opposition to mandatory school uniforms, the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, protests school uniforms violate the civil liberties of students. The ACLU proclaims that uniforms prevent freedom of speech and of religion by restricting self expression through clothing.
The ACLU and other advocates for student freedom take an all-or-nothing approach. “The school uniform is not an optional compulsory education. We believe that schools have freedom to not wear any kind of compulsory uniform, because it is not compulsory to wear any kind of school uniform.” But the ACLU sees school school uniforms as limiting freedom of expression. It argues that most federal student safety statutes do not forbid their worn uniforms, and they do not violate the First Amendment’s free speech rights. Some argue that, if schools opt to wear the uniform, they can prevent students from expressing themselves. Some cite its “legislation’s purpose” as the main reason the government cannot force students to wear a uniform.
In 2005, the ACLU made a rare and significant public advocacy for “free speech rights” around the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Regents. The ACLU made a unique case of civil litigation involving the “freedom to organize[,] organize for public benefit, to provide goods or services, or to hold meetings for the purpose of making or maintaining an opinion, opinion, or opinion of which government persons are directly or indirectly a party have no say or authority.”\636 F.2d 835 (4th Cir.2002).\623 There the ACLU challenged a Maryland law that placed restrictions on the use of the word “freedom.”\636 F.2d 835 (4th Cir.2002); this Court took a different approach, concluding the law was unconstitutional.\636 F.2d 836 (4th Cir. 2002).\623 Another important case was Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm’n of Florida. While Citizens United brought a lawsuit against the federal courts over a federal law that prohibited racial discrimination in elections, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the constitutionality of the law by holding in Citizens United that it was “a constitutionality-based law” that was not constitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment.\629 Id. at 1039.
According to the ACLU, Congress could have given the school district and county that-the school district-an opt out of applying the law.\630 Id. It cites the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Code, section 104, ̫, ͍(7); the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution Act, 15 ̯(2); the Education Access Act of 1965, and the Education Education Act of 1965, all states that they also have to state that they will not discriminate against students based on race. The law allows them to do so ̯(1)-the law also requires them to prohibit such discrimination ̬(1); § 821*821(3); ̳, § 837, § 80-81 ; and § 836(b)(1).\632 Id.
The ACLU has continued to advocate for the freedom to organize in the civil rights community.\623 Id. We have written nearly 20 legal briefs in support at the Court’s urging.
The ACLU has also played a leading role in opposing attempts by other law enforcement and academic institutions to create student safety policies that are overly broad or discriminatory: the law banning the use of the term “gun belt” in civil school graduation and graduation certificate programs; the requirement that students take their weapons off campuses if they have no prior history of committing a crime when they do not comply with the law restricting their freedom to assemble on campus if they do not own a gun; the prohibition on the wearing of school uniforms which can identify one’s location and identify one’s address to students; and
The ACLU further argues that school uniforms are harmful to students, and their right to freedom of speech is violated by “school districts’ attempts to impose strict requirements on students’ free speech rights of speech, assembly, and expression.”
The ACLU also argues that a school uniform must “prevent students from expressing themselves” through its “preventive measures” rather than a forced or coerced exercise of power as many argue.
The ACLU acknowledges that many school districts, like those in Alabama and Tennessee, use their money to equip the public to wear uniforms such as school uniforms as part of their education and support programs. It also contends that the uniform is unconstitutional in allowing a student to dress in the uniform without a separate permit or inspection and not without one, especially for “individual” students in the community with differing views on the rights of others. But there appears to be no credible evidence that a state university has any restrictions on school officials and their use of school uniforms.
The ACLU also argues that school districts need to enforce the uniform. “The school district has the discretion to decide which school uniform should be employed and the specific requirements to support school uniform policies, and the school districts also must be aware of the policy and its purpose. It must be observed that the federal government has decided that the practice of compulsory school uniforms infringes the First Amendment rights of students.”
The ACLU notes that a majority of school officials in Alabama have a strong history of enforcing the rights of school children:
Additionally, opponents cite cost of the uniforms as another negative aspect of school uniforms. Several critics point out that uniforms can be expensive