Background Information
Schools uniforms were first instituted in Baltimore, Maryland, at Cherry Hill Elementary School in 1987. Public school uniforms became popular 1994, when the Long Beach, California school district became the first to require uniforms (NCES, 2008). A year later, according to the district, school fights and muggings decreased by 50 percent and sexual offenses declined 74 percent. As a result, President Bill Clinton mandated that school uniforms be implemented in 1996 (Union Address, 2014). Yet, by 1999, only 12 percent of public schools required school uniforms. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the 2005-2006 school year, 14 percent of public schools had a policy requiring students to wear a uniform at school. This is an increase of two percent, despite Clinton’s order, for the 1999-2000 school year. However, 55 percent of public schools had a dress code policy by 2006 (NCES, 2008).
In 2007 was the first Supreme Court ruling protecting a student’s right to free expression. In protest of the Vietnam War, Mary Beth Tinker, John Tinker, and Christopher Eckhardt wore black arm bands to school. Their action violated a newly adopted board policy that gave the school the authority to ask for the removal of an arm band. The students refused to remove the arm bands and were sent home. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students’ right to protest. A student has the right to express a personal view as long as it does not create a material or substantial disruption to the educational process (“Tinker v. Des Moines (393 U.S. 503, 1969”, 2007).
Schools uniforms were first instituted in Baltimore, Maryland, at Cherry Hill Elementary School in 1987. Public school uniforms became popular 1994, when the Long Beach, California school district became the first to require uniforms (NCES, 2008). A year later, according to the district, school fights and muggings decreased by 50 percent and sexual offenses declined 74 percent. As a result, President Bill Clinton mandated that school uniforms be implemented in 1996 (Union Address, 2014). Yet, by 1999, only 12 percent of public schools required school uniforms. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the 2005-2006 school year, 14 percent of public schools had a policy requiring students to wear a uniform at school. This is an increase of two percent, despite Clinton’s order, for the 1999-2000 school year. However, 55 percent of public schools had a dress code policy by 2006 (NCES, 2008).
In 2007 was the first Supreme Court ruling protecting a student’s right to free expression. In protest of the Vietnam War, Mary Beth Tinker, John Tinker, and Christopher Eckhardt wore black arm bands to school. Their action violated a newly adopted board policy that gave the school the authority to ask for the removal of an arm band. The students refused to remove the arm bands and were sent home. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students’ right to protest. A student has the right to express a personal view as long as it does not create a material or substantial disruption to the educational process (“Tinker v. Des Moines (393 U.S. 503, 1969”, 2007).