School uniforms are not beneficial for schools or students. While many schools have “Express Yourself” campaigns, many districts send the opposite message by students from choosing their own clothing. 

School uniforms are not a good idea for schools in that it does not allow students to have any freedom in their clothing choice. In 1969, the US Supreme Court said: “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” This case was over the rights of students in schools. With so many schools across America promoting kids to “be themselves” and “express themselves,” having school uniforms is a step in the opposite direction. School uniforms restrict freedom of speech for students and teachers alike.

 “I think school uniforms serve no purpose in schools other than a school trying to show dominance over students and staff,” a 9th-grade student who wished to remain anonymous said.

The main purpose of school uniforms is to eliminate the ideas of social classes within a school yet it seems to have the opposite effect. In fact, 47% of schools that require school uniforms are in high-poverty areas. This is while only 6% of low-poverty areas require school uniforms. These high-poverty areas have social classes within them. While one family may be able to afford three uniforms for their child, a child that has only one set of school uniforms has a better chance of getting the uniforms ripped, tattered, or faded. This in itself sets up social classes within the school because families with more income can buy more than one set of uniforms some cannot. 

“I wouldn’t really mind school uniforms if they were required from kindergarten because by this point they wouldn’t be as much of a hassle, it’d just be a way of life,” an 11th-grade student who wished to remain anonymous.

According to the Children’s Society, about 800,000 students go to school every year in ill-fitting school uniforms. This is because families simply cannot afford to buy new uniforms for their children each year. Although people think that having school uniforms is less of an expense it puts more stress on the students and teachers while parents also have to buy clothes for their children for weekends or days with no school.

Some students dislike and even hate wearing school uniforms. Student research from the University of Nevada at Reno found that 90% of students of 7th and 8th graders at public schools oppose wearing school uniforms. At Washington High School in South Bend, IN enrollment into the school has dropped 43% since introducing school uniforms. This just shows the effects that school uniforms have on students and on the willingness of parents to find different schools all over school uniforms. 

“School uniforms are a good idea for people that don’t attend school every day,” a 10th-grade student who wished to remain anonymous said.