Dress code is a major controversy that has been raging in public schools for decades. The first dress code law was established in 1969 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The incident that caused this law to take effect was one in which several high school students wore black armbands to school in order to protest against the Vietnam War. This was considered offensive, and the Court decided that schools may limit the students' freedom of expression if there is a legitimate concern that it will disturb the learning environment for other students or disregard the rights of others. Today, over half of the Dress codes in public schools are constantly being updated and modified, what with students' ever-changing fashion trends. The purpose of dress codes in public schools is to guide students through the aspects of what is and is not appropriate to wear when they are in the workplace. Though a dress code is supposed to be implemented in order for both genders to learn appropriate dress, it seems as though females are often the main target of the consequences of not following school dress policies. Dress code policies in public schools are extremely gender biased against females.
Public school dress codes have been implemented in order to maintain a positive learning environment for all students. In other words, as long as a dress code is in place in public schools, students are able to receive a better education. As stated in an article written by Rosalind Wiseman of the Anti-Defamation League, "In contrast to boys, girls often get in trouble for presenting themselves as too sexual. Girls who go through puberty earlier. are disproportionately targeted" (Unspoken Messages of Dress Codes). This statement justifies the idea that dress codes are extremely biased towards females because they are told what to wear at an earlier age than males. They are told that they are a distraction to males in the classroom setting from the time that they hit puberty, which is, on average, at the age of 12 or so.