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29 J.L. & Educ. 113 (2000)
School Violence and Its Effect on the Constitutionality of Public School Uniform Policies

handle is hein.journals/jle29 and id is 123 raw text is: School Violence and Its Effect on the Constitutionality of Public School Uniform Policies I. Introduction The interest in public school uniforms has been renewed by recent outbreaks of school violence. As public schools search for solutions to improve safety, policies requiring mandatory school uniforms have become increasingly pop- ular. Further, both President Clinton and Attorney General Reno have endorsed uniforms as a measure for establishing disciplined schools. 1 Elementary and middle schools that have enacted uniform policies have reported a reduction in disruptive behavior and school violence. 2 However, in the process of enacting such policies, schools have been careful to structure them to avoid perceived First Amendment violations. One common safeguard, based on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 3 is to include an opt out provision that allows students with parental consent to choose not to wear a uniform. Thus, critics have charged that school uniforms would not be successful at the high school level, where most school violence occurs, because the majority of high school students would choose to opt out. 4 The Arizona Court of Appeals, in the first court decision regarding public school uniform policies, rejected the notion that Tinker applies to such policies. The court held that mandatory school uniforms do not violate students' First Amendment rights. 5 This note will discuss the Arizona decision and its effect on the structuring of school uniform policies and their related success at the high school level. II. The Link Between Student Dress and School Violence The April 20, 1999 school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado is an example of the relationship between student dress and school violence. The shooters were part of a group labeled the trench coat mafia due to the black trench coats they wore to school. They were harassed and isolated 1. See School Uniforms: Cookie-Cutter Policy or a Real Solution to Behavior Woes?, SCHOOL VIOLENCE ALERT, May 1998, Vol. 2, No. 4. 2. See U.S. DEP'T OF EDUC., MANUAL ON SCHOOL UNIFORMS (1996). 3. 393 U.S. 503 (1969). 4. See Loren Siegel, Point of View: School Uniforms, IN CONGRESS: AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FREEDOM NETWORK 1, $4 (March 1, 1996) <http://www.aclu.org/congress/uniform.html>. 5. See Phoenix Elementary Sch. Dist. No. I v. Green, 943 P.2d 836 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1997).

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