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Implementing School Uniforms

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Implementing School Uniform Policy in Public Schools
Jennifer Phillips
Sullivan University

Abstract
School uniform policies have become an important debate among public schools in the United States. The school district in Long Beach, California was the one of the first public schools to adopt a mandated uniform policy. The success that this school had, along with other schools that followed this path, does not seem to be enough evidence to convince other school leaders that school uniforms has a great impact on the students in behavior and academic success. Arguments among school leaders, parents, and students range from not enough statistical research to prove that the uniforms better the student’s safety and education, to the expense of uniforms compared to every day clothes. The evidence that the public schools have that participate in school uniforms seems to outweigh the petty arguments of a few critics. Keywords: school uniforms, safety, students, faculty, education

Implementing School Uniform Policy in Public Schools
School uniform policy is an ongoing debate spreading across our country. According to Schatcher (2005), “by the end of 2002 twenty-three percent of all elementary schools had adopted uniforms, and several middle and high schools had followed the pattern” (p.46). Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were both supporters of mandating uniform policies in the public schools. Clinton endorsed the policy through his State of Union address:
The President sees them as a way to get around the problems posed by students wearing gang attire; they also see them as a way to blur the economic distinctions among students. They even see uniforms as a way to promote a more serious and scholarly academic environment in the schools (Evans, 1996, p.139). For private schools and the military school, uniforms have been around for some

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