The case most often cited by uniform advocates occurred in the Long Beach Unified School District, in Long Beach, California. In 1994, the Long Beach Unified School District adopted a mandatory uniform policy at the elementary and middle school levels (West, Tidwell, Bomba, and Elmore, 1999).
The district consisted of 56 elementary schools and 14 middle schools (West, et al., 1999). Representatives from the Long Beach Unified School District Stated that when the 1994 school year was compared to the 1993 school year, after the uniform policy had been in effect for one year, they reported a 34 percent decrease in assault and battery incidents, a 51 percent decrease in physical fights, and a 32 percent decrease in the amount of student suspensions (Paliokas, Futrell, and Rist, 1996). Also, a decrease in sex offenses, weapon offenses, and vandalism were reported (West, et al., 1999).
A Follow-up Study of Parents" 4.
Administrators and teachers from Long Beach have claimed that when students are in uniform, their attitudes and behavior changed. They noticed that students exhibited higher .
Self-esteem and took greater pride in school (Paliokas, et al., 1996). Administrators and teachers also reported a higher attendance rate and fewer discipline problems (1996). Additionaly, they observed that students" attitudes were more serious and overall students were better behaved in class (1996). However, administrators and teachers do not attribute the positive changes exclusively to uniforms, but they really believe that the changes are more than coincidental (1996).
Advocates of school uniforms continually cite the example of the Long Beach Unified School District. Since it was the first large, urban school district to commit to a mandatory school uniform policy, the case is important to the debate that surrounds school uniforms (Brunsma and Rockquemore, 19998).
