Does School Discipline Over Uniform Infractions Go too Far?

[eridani]

http://www.nationofchange.org/does-school-discipline-over-uniform-infractions-go-too-far-1372000263
Despite the intention of the punishment to dissuade students from breaking uniform rules, it can sometimes have the opposite effect.

“Some students wear clothes violating school uniform [rules] on purpose, just to get out of class,” said Emma Salazar, a junior at Wilson. “Uniforms are important, but there are many ways to deal with students that wouldn’t affect their learning time.”

Some community advocates agree that taking students out of class for school uniform infractions may prove to be counter-productive in certain instances.

“There needs to be a more positive way for student discipline than pulling the student out of their classes and harming their class time,” said Justine Calma, program coordinator at Khmer Girls in Action, a local non-profit whose mission is to empower Southeast Asian girls and young women.

Less obvious, however, is what exactly can be done to create an alternative for enforcing the uniform code, that won’t result in students missing class time.

Everybody has different opinions about school uniforms, but there is clearly a need for districts that have uniform codes to revisit the issue, with students and parents, of how violations are dealt with.

“I personally like uniforms– they’re unique and they usually save money for students,” said Jazmine Gonzalez, a sophomore at Wilson High. “But restricting uniforms and dress codes [in a way] that affects the student’s learning time -- that I’m against.”