Dress Codes in Public Schools Need Change

There needs to be a stricter dress code across the public school systems in the United States. The choices of attire have become more and more distracting over the years. At some point there has to be an across-the-board change to improve the overall environment in school. There are many things that can be done.

Make the regulations for clothing in schools straight-forward and detailed. Instead of language like "students shall not wear offensive t-shirts," describe the clothes that are specifically offensive in the regulations for the school. "Any clothes that advertise or resemble products containing alcohol, drugs, or either gender in a derogatory fashion are strictly forbidden," for example. How short can a person's shorts be? Should mid-drift in any form be tolerated? There are many questions for a school system to think about when writing, or rewriting, their dress code policy. Regardless, the standards for appearance need to be clear-cut and nearly impossible to misinterpret.

The other aspect of a school dress code is the enforcement of the standard. Many times a student is told to change when they arrive to school with inappropriate attire. Most of those times, they are not followed up on. A frequent violator is not punished more, in most cases the school gets tired of fleecing up "John's" attire, so "John" gets to wear what he wants most of the time. There needs to be a simple system of action correction in place at every school. First violation is a warning with the student changing the piece of clothing that is against school policy. The second time results in detention, the third volunteering at the school (possibly graffiti clean-up, painting, trash pick-up, etc.), after that suspensions might be the only answer. Parents need to be involved as well. Depending on the grade level, parents play an active role in teaching a child about dressing appropriately and the clothes they have in their wardrobe.

Discipline is an important aspect of learning in school. Whether it is being a distraction in class, not respecting authority or even a dress code violation, it is the simple task of a student to follow directions. These are basic principles that set a child up for success after high school, entering college or the outside world. A
few enforcements from wearing inappropriate clothing in 7^th grade is a small price to pay compared to losing your job later in life by failing to follow something as elementary as a dress code. The school systems need to set children up for success later in life, whether it is 3^rd grade or 11^th grade, by having a more detailed and better enforced dress code.