ior high schools (Paliokas 33). The general improvements of the students who attend schools that require them to wear uniforms provide substantial evidence for the arguments for school uniforms. In almost all of the schools that now have uniform policies test scores have gone up ten to fifteen points (Paliokas 33). I can conclude from the improvements that maybe we ought to have 100 percent of the public schools starting uniform policies. I don’t believe that waiting for years of research and study on this issue will change the outcome. Students are moving through school fast and to wait for years to go by before making this a mandate can only lessen the chances for improvement in the students who are currently in school. The motivation behind this issue is not to infringe on students’ rights or burden parents with extra cost, but to simply improve the students. Do students have rights as part of the American populous? If so, what are their rights? Do they even have the right to choose to go or not to go to school, or is this, the rights of the parents and society? Our society is now more than ever seems to be concerned with preserving the rights and feelings of others. Are first graders’ minds capable of judging what is in their best interest or is it up to the adult population? Parents are the ones who should teach and mentor the children in the spirit about their rights, and how to use good judgment and common sense. Any dress restriction that infringes on a student’s First Amendment right must be justified by a showing that the student’s attire materially disrupts school operation, infringes on the rights of others at the school, or otherwise interferes with any basic educational mission of the school (Grantham 1). The legal aspect of requiring students to wear uniforms is a small matter if the majority of the parents back the policy. However, some will fight with every penny they have so...
