Student Dress Policies. ERIC Digest, Number 117.

Educators and the public are divided over the value of implementing school-uniform policies in the public schools. This digest examines arguments for and against school-uniform policies, identifies legal considerations, and offers guidelines for implementing policies on student dress. Most parents have responded favorably to uniform policies, while children's attitudes vary. The legal issues involve First Amendment claims and liberty claims. Experts recommend that policymakers address three key questions: Are the requirement legally defensible/ Do they actually restore order? Are less restrictive dress codes a better alternative? For example, policymakers can consider five alternatives ranging from least to most restrictive; (1) Do not institute a dress code; (2) institute a dress code that outlines general goals, and let principals and local school officials formulate and implement policy at the grass-roots level; (3) institute an itemized dress code that will be applied throughout the district; (4) authorize a voluntary uniform policy; and (5) authorize a mandatory uniform policy with or without a clearly defined opt-out provision. The policymakers should decide whether to let schools choose their own uniforms and whether to offer financial help to low-income families. (Contains 10 references.) (LMI)