The same is true when great rivers of the law meet and flow together. Issues become turbulent and litigation is likely to result. One place legal rivers flow together is in the area of public school dress codes and uniforms.
Students have a constitutional liberty and privacy right to govern their personal appearance.
That is, their parents wishes notwithstanding, the government typically cannot tell them what to wear. At the same time, the State s public schools have constitutional duties and rights that require and allow them carry out their educational mission. When the schools see it as part of their mission to govern student appearance, turbulence occurs. In the last decade, numerous schools around the country have tried to implement uniform or dress codes. Some of these attempts have been successful.