Should Schools Require Uniforms?

When you got up and got ready for school this morning, did you have a choice of what you’d wear?

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, public school students used to have to put on the same thing: plain collared shirts with pants, shorts, or skirts in khaki, black, or navy blue. But last summer, school officials voted to drop uniform requirements for grades K-8. For the first time in more than a decade, Harrisburg students have more freedom to show off their personal style—as long as they meet a fairly standard dress code.

Around the country, what students can—and can’t—wear to school is often decided by district administrators. Uniforms are common at private and charter schools. But nearly one in five public schools in the United States also require students to wear uniforms.

People in favor of such policies argue that uniforms help students focus on learning—not on their outfits. But critics say uniforms limit young people’s self-expression.

Middle schoolers have enough to deal with: They don’t need the added stress over what to wear to school every day. That’s one reason school officials in New Britain, Connecticut, implemented a uniform policy last year. The move was supported by a majority of students and parents responding to a districtwide survey. “It makes their lives simpler,” Tony Gasper, superintendent of New Britain schools, said at the time.

Uniforms can also help build a sense of community: Because everyone is wearing the same thing, students feel like they’re on the same team. In addition, the policies reduce pressure to wear the latest styles and accessories, and can help kids who can’t afford them feel less singled out, some parents and school officials say.

What’s more, uniforms can help make schools safer by eliminating a common reason for bullying, says Miguel Yepez, a seventh-grader in Bradenton, Florida. His elementary school didn’t require uniforms, but for middle school he has to wear a blue polo shirt with khaki pants or dress shorts. Having uniforms does seem to reduce teasing, he says, “because there’s not really much to make fun of if you’re all wearing the same thing.”

Plus, uniforms make it easy to get dressed in the morning, Miguel adds. “You don’t have to look through a bunch of stuff. It’s one shirt.”

On the other hand, some parents and school officials say that making students all dress the same comes at a price.

For parents, the price is in real dollars and cents. According to Eric Turman, the Harrisburg School District superintendent, “the costliness of buying both uniform clothing and casual clothing” was one of the reasons his district decided to end its uniforms mandate.

For students, the price is different: Wearing a uniform can rob them of a major outlet for self-expression. As many experts point out, the teen years are when young people develop their personal identities—and want to show each other who they are.

“I like wearing my own things because I like to be different,” says Sophia Pasvankias, a sixth-grader in Darien, Connecticut. With a uniform, “you don’t get a lot of freedom in choosing what you want to wear.”

That sort of freedom might not be as disruptive as some school officials might think. Arya Ansari, a professor at Ohio State University, was the lead author of a 2021 study that found that uniform policies often fail to achieve hoped-for goals. For instance, one common claim is that dressing the same way helps students feel a sense of community. But the study found that uniforms can have the opposite effect. “When students can’t show their individuality, they may not feel like they belong as much,” Ansari said.