I realize that uniforms are not a panacea for the problems we are experiencing in our society. However, school districts that have implemented a uniform policy have experienced a distinct improvement in student behavior and attitudes. For example, the Long Beach Unified School District, which is in its sixth year of a mandatory school uniform policy, reports it now has the lowest rate of student absence since 1980, the lowest rate of student suspensions since 1990, and a 91 percent decrease in student crime. The district also reports that the number of school fights has dropped by half. Every measurable problem is down in problem schools throughout the city, from the richest neighborhoods to the poorest.
Academics are stronger than ever at Long Beach, as well.
During the first year of the uniform policy, the first school to adopt it reported 20 percent more A grades and 9 percent fewer F grades. Principals who have implemented a uniform policy at their schools report that uniforms help with discipline because they encourage students to get down to business, the same way adults do when they put on their work clothes. At Whittier Elementary School, for example, the principal says they have achieved the lowest absentee rate in the district. Some might argue that we in Ventura are not the same types of community as Long Beach or Whittier and therefore we do not have the problems they might have. Unfortunately, our schools and community are not isolated or free of problems.