First Ammendment-School Uniforms

            
             The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America states that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Take notice of the part that mentions the "freedom of speech." Now imagine you are a parent with three children who all attend public schools. They've just come home with a flyer from their school informing parents that uniforms are to be introduced the following year. Is the first thing that comes to your mind that the school is infringing upon your child's freedom? Apparently this is the way a large percentage of American parents feel. However, statistics show that when introduced, school uniforms greatly reduce theft, gang affiliation problems, peer pressure, presence of intruders and help increase student discipline and concentration on their school work. One of the main reasons so many people are opposed to it is that is still relatively a new idea. Only three percent of public schools in the United States currently have a dress code in place (U.S. Department of Education). As a nation, we need to move towards more implementation of uniforms in our public schools. .
             In 1994, the Long Beach Unified School District in California took a big step and became the first public school in the United States to implement mandatory school uniforms(Gallegos, School Expulsions, Suspensions, and Dropouts: Understanding the Issues, 1998). They decided to see if these uniforms would take effect in helping to reduce student problems. Only one year later, reports showed that overall school crime decreased 36 percent, fights decreased by 51 percent, sex offenses went down by 74 percent, weapon offenses decreased 50 percent, assault and battery offenses decreased by 34 percent, and vandalism decreased by 18 percent(Gallegos, 1998).