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Should Students Have To Wear Mandatory Uniforms

School uniforms may deter crime and increase student safety. In Long Beach, CA, after two years of a district-wide K-8 mandatory uniform policy, reports of assault and battery in the district's schools decreased by 34%, assault with a deadly weapon dropped by 50%, fighting incidents went down by 51%, sex offenses were cut by 74%, robbery dropped by 65%, possession of weapons (or weapon "look-alikes") decreased by 52%, possession of drugs went down by 69%, and vandalism was lowered by 18%. (M. Sue Stanley, "School Uniforms and Safety," Education and Urban Society, Aug. 1996) A 2012 peer-reviewed study found that one year after Sparks Middle School in Nevada instituted a uniform policy, school police data showed a 63% drop in police log reports, and decreases were also noted in gang activity, student fights, graffiti, property damage, and battery. (Claudene Wharton, "College of Education Researchers Conduct Study on Impacts of School Uniforms," unr.edu, Apr. 23, 2013) A 2010 peer-reviewed study found that schools with uniform policies had 12% fewer firearm-related incidents and 15% fewer drug-related incidents than schools without uniforms. (Seunghee Han, "A Mandatory Uniform Policy in Urban Schools: Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2003-04," International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, 2010) A 2007 peer-reviewed study found that, in schools with historically higher rates of sexual violence, sexual attacks were less likely if uniform policies were in place. (J. Scott Granberg-Rademacker, Jeffrey Bumgarner, and Avra Johnson, "Do School Violence Policies Matter? An Empirical Analysis of Four Approaches to Reduce School Violence," Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, Spring 2007) School uniforms also prevent students from concealing weapons under baggy clothing, make it easier to keep track of students on field trips, and make intruders on campus more visible. Frank Quatrone, superintendent in the Lodi district of New Jersey, stated in Feb. 2011 that "When you have students dressed alike, you make them safer. If someone were to come into a building, the intruder could easily be recognized." (John A. Gavin, "Schools Find Stricter Rules, Uniforms Can Lessen Bullying," northjersey.com, Feb. 8, 2011) Wearing uniforms enhances school pride, unity, and community spirit. A 2007 study from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom found that uniforms "often directly contributed to a feeling of school pride." Christopher P. Clouet, Superintendent of the New London, CT school district, stated that "the wearing of uniforms contributes to school pride." A 2002 study of over 1,000 Texas middle school students found that students in uniform "reported significantly more positive perceptions of belonging in their school community than reported by students in the standard dress group." Arnold Goldstein, PhD, head of the Center for Research on Aggression at Syracuse University, stated that uniforms help troubled students feel they have the support of a community: "There is a sense of belonging." A 2007 peer-reviewed study found that after uniforms were introduced, "Teachers perceived an increase in the level of respect, caring, and trust... throughout the school" and said "students are made to feel 'important' and as if they are a part of a team by wearing a uniform." (John A. Huss, "The Role of School Uniforms in Creating an Academically Motivating Climate: Do Uniforms Influence Teacher Expectations," Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, 2007)