May schools adopt mandatory uniform policies?
The Supreme Court has not decided a case on school uniforms. However, most lower courts are siding with school districts that adopt uniform policies. The push for school uniforms gained momentum in 1996 when President Clinton stated: “If it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require school uniforms.” The president ordered the U.S. Department of Education to issue manuals on the efficacy of school uniforms. The manual (available on-line at the Department of Education Web site) states that school uniforms represent “one positive and creative way to reduce discipline problems and increase school safety.” One federal appeals court that recently upheld a school uniform policy in Louisiana gave the following explanation for its decision: The School Board’s purpose for enacting the uniform policy is to increase test scores and reduce disciplinary problems throughout the school system.
The U.S. Supreme Court has not decided a case on school uniforms. However, most lower courts are siding with school districts that adopt uniform policies. The push for school uniforms gained momentum in 1996 when President Clinton stated: “If it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require school uniforms.” The president ordered the U.S. Department of Education to issue manuals on the efficacy of school uniforms. The manual stated that school uniforms represent “one positive and creative way to reduce discipline problems and increase school safety.” One federal appeals court that upheld a school uniform policy in Louisiana gave the following explanation for its decision: The School Board’s purpose for enacting the uniform policy is to increase test scores and reduce disciplinary problems throughout the school system. This purpose is in no way related to the suppression of student speech. Although students are
