Published: November 06, 2009 09:06 am      

A uniform appeal | Will dress codes help students behave?

Our schools’ mission is educating children.

Unfortunately, administrators and staff in Westmoreland County’s Jeannette City School District are probably having a tough time right now keeping their total focus on that mission.

That’s because Jeannette recently became one of a growing number of public districts nationwide to adopt a school uniform policy for students.

With that, no doubt, have come new rules to enforce, many questions to be answered, and certainly many – students and parents alike – willing to demonstrate resistance.

We would expect the atmosphere on campus to be rather stressful.

We hope school administrators, parents and students in our region are taking note.

Although such policies have been restricted to mostly big-city districts in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh – an estimated 20 percent of public schools now have a uniform policy – it easily could happen here.

We hope not.

It’s too bad that so many school districts have seen a need to enact uniform policies. In many cases, it is tied to bullying and the welcomed efforts nationwide to address that serious issue.

Here’s what is happening:

In nearly every case, schools, the same as in the workplace, have long had dress code policies. The problem is, many districts are lax in enforcing them.

And the blame must be shared equally by parents and school personnel.

How many times have we as parents said to our children as they left in the morning: “Are you going to school dressed like that?” – yet never sent the child back to his or her bedroom to change into something more appropriate?

“I’ve seen students going to school in pajamas and slippers, flip-flops, busting out all over,” Jeannette school board president Shelly Beckner told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently. “I really think the way you dress is the way you act.”

That seems to be true at times, but certainly not in all cases.

While we understand the Jeannette board’s reasoning to push for stricter guidelines, we believe it has gone too far, especially by banning jeans.

That’s absurd. Presentable jeans are acceptable casual attire, even in many workplaces including offices.

To the Jeannette board's credit, arrangements have been made for low-cost uniforms to be available at the Jeannette St. Vincent de Paul store for families having trouble paying for the required clothing.

The district’s punishment for violators has been outlined as follows:

First offense: Parents will be contacted and required to bring suitable clothing to the school for a child to be able to return to class.

Second offense: Parents will be called and the student will be given in-school suspension.

Third offense: Required out-of-school suspension.

Subsequent offenses will mean the student appears before a district judge.

Supporters of uniform policies cite figures showing reduced suspensions and improved behavior in districts that adopt them.

We believe that schools enforcing sensible dress codes and good student behavior would work just as well.

We hope administrators, parents and students in our region get the message – before it’s too late.

We would hate to see strict uniform policies adopted in our public schools.