The Emperor's New School Uniform

I am a third generation educator. I also have nothing against school uniforms. I wore one from my first day of school until I graduated high school. My problem is with lazy, politically expedient decision making -- which is a fair characterization of the school board's imposition of school uniforms.

First, some background from a conversation with the school administrator who spearheaded the initiative for school uniforms. He mentioned that the idea came from a parent in his school. He also said that the school board researched the idea, and found no evidence that school uniforms in and of themselves impacted student test scores, behavior or engagement/pride in school. That is an accurate summary of the research literature. One can always find examples that support a predetermined position -- some research says uniforms work and more shows they don't. The issue here is critical and thoughtful analysis. This was not done. If it was, the board would have concluded that on both sides of the issue the research is methodologically weak, has poor statistical controls, and suffers from sophomoric and wholly inappropriate statistical analysis. The handful of studies that meet a minimum good practice criteria uniformly show (pun intended) that school uniforms do not impact student outcomes.

I mentioned this to my administrator friend. He agreed, and then stunned me by saying, "we're doing it anyway." So some schools are changing to school uniforms and expecting improved test scores, reduced bullying and improved school pride. All from a new pair of slacks and polo shirts. Which begs the question -- what other magical powers do clothes have?

Here are some outstanding issues I'd like the board to publically clarify:

» This is not being implemented district-wide. If uniforms are so beneficial, why withhold such an educational bounty from the majority of students in the district?

» Participation in the program was voluntary. It is curious that only Title I schools "volunteered."

» A survey was held where there had to be a 70 percent parent response rate and 60 percent of those parents had to be in favor for a school to adopt the uniform policy. I requested a copy of the data so that I could independently verify the results -- I have yet to receive a copy.

» The district sent out a flyer extolling the virtues of uniforms that was either unintentionally misleading or knowingly false. Why?

So why would the school board do this? The answer is simple -- political expediency. It looks like they're actually doing something when in reality they are doing absolutely nothing. There is the added bonus that implementing this program doesn't cost the school board one red cent. The cost is carried by the parents of the children in the Title I schools. Those with the least financial means are now required to purchase school uniforms.

When I brought this to the attention of my administrator friend, his response was, "We'll give people a voucher."

I received my vouchers on the last day of school. I ripped them up.

David F. Lopez