“I do not see the point in dressing and acting and speaking in a way that makes you feel more comfortable and me feel less comfortable.” - Dan Pearce. The first talk of school dress codes started in 1969 by the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided that schools can ban clothing that is disruptive to the learning environment and offends or violates the rights of others. But are some rules taken too far? 

Let us start from the beginning- what caused dress codes to be implemented in the first place? As previously stated, the first dress code law originated in 1969 by the United States Supreme court because of the case Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent School District. A group of high school students protested by wearing black armbands to fight against the Vietnam War. In a blink of an eye, the act of limiting student expression was approved for schools to follow through with. Some popular dress codes in the 1970s included girls not allowed to wear pants, tight fitted shirts, skirts, and wearing denim. According to “Back to School: Dress Codes from the Past '' by Gena Philibert-Ortega , one school skirts that reached girls' ankles were not even allowed! The principal of this school stated “The attire worn by a student must not be unorthodox in such a manner as to be a distracting or disturbing factor in the instruction program” (Philiberta-Ortega). The penalties for failing to obey the dress codes included detention and even suspension. But, this did not stop students from protesting and taking action. An example of this is in Abraham Lincoln High School located in Brooklyn New York a student named Beverly Berstein decided to protest by wearing a sweater and slacks to school. She was later suspended, but other girls started wearing sweaters and slacks to school as well. Fortunately, the girls set up a petition and the school allowed them to wear slacks and sweaters to school. 

Currently, dress codes still exist in many schools and protests and petitions are still taking place. Some examples for dress codes are shorts and skirts can not go past the fingertips, thin straps can not be worn, ripped jeans are not allowed, and cropped shirts are not allowed to be worn. And yet, the only clothes that are available at malls and popular clothing stores are cropped tops and ripped jeans. How can students buy clothing that isn’t available or accessible to them that follow the dress code? As stated in the article “Why are Dress Codes Unhealthy” by Elizabeth Cheng says how one girl from the Bay Area explains on how she has to adjust to the clothing found in malls.  “We practiced how to make our arms and hands look shorter so we could get away with a larger variety of shorts and skirts.” (Cheng) Also, protests are still happening just like the past. One example is a young girl named Sophia Trevino who decided to speak out after being dress coded for wearing ripped jeans. She planned her outfit just like normal and went to school, and she got dress-coded before even first period started. According to the article “Sexist,’ ‘Racist,’ ‘Classist’: Georgia 8th Grader Challenges School Dress Code” by Isabella Grullón Paz it states “of course checked with her friends that the outfit was cute; they said it was. Her parents didn’t think twice about the clothes.” (Paz) This quote explains how her parents and friends did not even bat an eye towards her clothing but her teachers and the school system took notice of it. 

All in all, school dress codes are still an issue and have not been solved or changed for the better. Even with petitions and protests, dress codes are mandatory and many schools are adamant to change. To change, we must authorize student expression. We must take into account on how students feel towards the dress code. We must turn over a new leaf for a better future.