The implementation of mandatory uniforms in Long Beach received national attention and it has been attributed with positive changes in student behavior (1998). Uniform advocates are using the findings from the Long Beach Unified School District to justify uniforms as the new policy tool for solving the problems that exist in public schools (West, Tidwell, Bomba, and Elmore, 1999).
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A Follow-up Study of Parents" 5.
The Long Beach Unified School District was the first and largest school district to institute a mandatory uniform policy (Paliokas, Futrell, and Rist, 1996) and other schools have followed their example. California, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington all have state policies that allow individual schools and/or districts to implement uniform policies and dress codes (King, 1998).
Opponents to the requirement of school uniforms stress the legal effectiveness of uniform policies (Brunsma and Rockquemore, 1998). Their focus is on whether or not uniforms violate student's individual rights. It is echoed in literature that mandatory uniform policies are an infringement of First Amendment rights (Caruso, 1996) and a violation of the liberty interest to control a person's appearance under the 14th Amendment (Paliokas, Futrell, and Rist, 1996). It has also been argued that uniforms can teach students a negative lesson concerning conformity, that uniforms will not conceal the differences between the social classes, and that uniforms will not stop gang activity or violence (West, Tidwell, Bomba, and Elmore, 1999). Finally, it has been stated that there is no empirical evidence to support the claims made by uniform advocates (Brunsma and Rockquemore, 1998) and that research .
A Follow-up Study of Parents" 6.
literature regarding uniform effectiveness is inconclusive (West, Tidwell, Bomba, and Elmore, 1999).