The Importance Of Dress Codes In Schools

Should Dress Codes be Used in Schools?

On main question all students and teachers have been debating for years: should there be a school dress code? Many students and parents are concerned with the dress codes and their limitations(“School”). On the other hand, teachers and principles believe that dress codes should be enforced to protect students(“School”). Ways that this question can be solved is by looking at the rules of dress code, the positive side of dress codes, and the negative side of dress codes.

The only way to address the importance of dress codes is to look at the rules. One of the most important rules is that anyone who wears clothes that are inappropriate or distract other students would not be permitted to go to class. Some

Many principles believe that school dress codes help students stay more focused on their studies and that the students were being bullied less (Daniels). School dress codes help students not feel peer pressure as much because other students cannot bully them based on their clothing, since they are permitted to wear similar types of clothing (“School”). One study in California’s Long Beach District showed that when the dress code was being enforced 91% of crime decreased, suspensions have decreased by 90%, sex offenses have decreased by 96%, and vandalism has decreased by 69%. Another study at Harvard School of education showed that in the last 5 years, dropout rates had decreased from 11.2% to 2.7%. In January of 2001, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that school dress codes and uniforms improved the academic environment, improved student expression, and did not dictate student’s beliefs or rights (Daniels). In conclusion, school dress codes help students focus on schoolwork more, restricts them from bringing weapons to school, and helps some students stay in school by feeling less peer pressure and bullying from other

Many students believe that the school dress code negatively impacts their life at school and in other environments. Some students believe that the school dress code violates their First Amendment rights, and prevents them from being able to express themselves. Because of this, critics of school dress codes believe that dress codes can slow down a student’s emotional development and cause them to believe that they have to conform to be like the people around them (“School”). Students and families have also believed that school dress codes can question the rules of equality, based on what certain students can and cannot wear. In 1925, the Supreme Court supported the belief that the state cannot make students conform, but still, some families and students believe that it still is. Many times a student has gone to trial to debate whether or not they can express themselves with their clothing, the courts would often win, claiming that a certain type of style does not convey a message. In fact, “The Supreme Court decided that for protestors, authorities had to show that the speech ‘materially and substantially’ went against the the school discipline order to ban student speech”. Much like the principles at school, the Courts believed that dress codes were used to help students, not distract them. However, as much as principles believe that school