e is a reduction of crime because of mandated uniforms? We must agree that there is no part of our students’ lives that can be improved by the atmosphere of crime. How to deal with crime is one of the ethical questions all school administrators and lawmakers must address and act on accordingly. The statistics say that schools having a school uniform policy have seen a steady decrease in crime. Long Beach Unified School District was the first large urban school district in the United States to require school uniforms. One incredible reduction was that sex offenses have decreased 93% (Bell 24). The cost of implementing a uniform policy must also be looked at closely. The fact that all students have different degrees of economic status requires us to address this matter. If a student can not afford uniforms will they not be able to go to school? Would it be better to have them spend all their money on uniforms so they could go to school? If they spend all of their money on uniforms, will they have money to participate in after school sports or social events? Maybe they would spend the money on uniforms instead of nutritious food, thereby affecting their health. The current Texas law does provide ways of accommodating students who can not afford to buy uniforms (Radcliffe 1999). The Long Beach Unified School District has privately raised over $160,000 for assistance to disadvantaged students. By helping the disadvantaged, they have not put any financial burden on the taxpayers. Unlike Long Beach’s school district, San Antonio’s school district has spent about $500,000 to outfit 90% of their students, and has cost the taxpayers a lot of money (Radcliffe 1999). They ought to look at ways of reducing the cost to taxpayers, possibly through private funding from companies that participate in philanthropic programs. The nation has implemented school uniforms in about 25% of its public elementary, middle, and jun...
