There is something comforting about schoolchildren dressed in pleats and plaid. Maybe it reminds us of our own childhood, or conjures up thoughts of order and safety. Parents set the standard. The school makes the rules. Student government agrees on a dress code.
Uniforms are the answer.
From California to Boston, some of the nation's largest school districts now have uniform policies. In New York City alone, more than half a million elementary-school students will be wearing them by next fall. A case for uniforms No long-term, formal studies have been done on the effectiveness of school uniforms, but many schools have kept their own informal statistics. California's Long Beach Unified School District's records are probably cited most often. This urban district adopted a mandatory uniform policy in 1994.