sure amongst students to try to “fit in” so they can concentrate on their school work. President William Clinton agrees with this saying “If uniforms can help deter school violence, promote discipline, and foster a better learning environment, then we should show strong support to the parents that try them”.(21) By mandating uniforms in public school, school officials hope to see a reduction in crime and violence. According to statistics, there are notable decreases in school violence and illegal offenses after the enactment of a school uniform or standardized dress code policy.(Lewis) Can uniforms really help in deterring violence and crime? Many parents and teachers say yes. Supporters of uniforms say social and economic classes would no longer be revealed by students’ clothing and the school system will have more of a sense of community.(Nittel) Providing that a child’s clothes does make a difference in school violence, then uniforms are exactly what our children need. Some parents feel uniforms will put the students’ emphasis on schoolwork instead of dressing “cool”, and they will help to lower school violence. Almost five years ago, the Long Beach School District made headlines when it became the first school district in the country to make uniforms mandatory for its elementary and middle school students. According to Phoenix school officials in Long Beach, California, attendance and test scores improved, incidents of students fighting decreased by 50%, student crimes decreased by 36% and student suspensions decreased by 32% after they enacted a uniform policy.(Will) Also other there were other steps to improve student behavior. Increasing the number of teachers patrolling the hallways during class changes, were also taken by the district around the same time the uniform policy was introduced. Dress codes were initiated in private schools as a standard. As violence, competition between students, and distractions from the educational system increased in public schools, administrators began to consider uniforms as a solution to the problem. In Baltimore, Maryland, school administrators found a 44% drop in assault and battery charges, a 50% reduction in assault with a deadly weapon, a 41% cut in occurrences of fighting and a 74% drop in sexual offenses. They also found drug abuse to be down by 89% and vandalism had dropped by 8%.(Stacey) These results and others caused many school districts to consider uniforms for their own schools. Uniforms seem to give students a sense of responsibility. It says that clothing is not that important. With this realization the students began to forget about their clothes and refocused their attention on education. Consequently their test scores and attitudes improved. One teacher stated that “ I have never seen so many children change their overall attitude in the classroom in just a matter of a few weeks.” Studies show school uniforms are more successful in elementary schools, where students are not so intent on their individuality.(Stover) And, experts recommend placing students in uniforms at a young age so they become accustomed to a program. This allows there to be no focus on material items and the children’s focus remains on education from the start. Stover(1990) states that most supporters of uniforms agree the program will not succeed unless school officials gain the support of a large majority of parents from the beginning. President Bill Clinton endorsed school uniforms in his 1996 State of the Union Address, and this endorsement was followed by the distribution of a United States Department of Education Manual on School Uniforms to the nations’ 16,000 school districts. This manual is used as a guide to help schools incorporate uniform policies and standardized dress codes into their extensive safe school programs. The decision whether to adopt a uniform policy is made by states, local school districts, and schools. For uniforms to be a success, as with a

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