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Are school dress codes a tool for student safety or a restriction on their self-identity? The question has been debated for years.

But more recently, dress codes have come up as an equity issue after reports that Black students, girls, and LGBTQ students across the country are disproportionately affected by school dress codes. Some districts have imposed harsh punishments on those groups of students, including in- or out-of-school suspensions, for violations of dress codes. And a federal Government Accountability Office report recently concluded there's a lack of model policies to help school districts set dress codes that are fair to everyone.

Here are answers to some common questions about dress codes.

Ninety-three percent of school districts have dress codes or policies on what students wear to school, according to a Government Accountability Office report. These policies are meant to provide guidelines on what students can and can't wear, including specific pieces of clothing, hairstyles, and accessories. Dress codes can vary widely in what they restrict. Some schools even require students to wear uniforms. Most often, though, dress codes ban clothes that the district considers revealing, distracting, controversial, or pose a safety threat to students.

The vast majority of dress codes-90 percent-ban clothing associated with girls, a Government Accountability Office report found. They also impose limits on the types of clothes students can wear. Commonly banned clothing items include halter or strapless tops, "skirts or shorts shorter than mid-thigh," and "yoga pants or any type of skin tight attire," the report says.

About a quarter of them specifically bar the exposure of "cleavage," "breasts," or "nipples," which are aimed at female students. Many ban bare midriffs as well.

Almost 69 percent of dress codes ban clothing associated with boys, such as "muscle tees" and "sagging pants."

And 59 percent of dress codes have rules about students' hairstyles that disproportionately impact Black students, the GAO report found.

In the GAO report, the agency found that most dress codes cite safety as a reason for having guidelines.

But the enforcement of dress codes often ends up penalizing students for their clothing or hair, rather than protecting them, some researchers argue.

"A lot of times these codes, while they're supposed to be designed to keep students safe and to be able to engage in learning, do more harm than good, and are not inclusive of all identities," said Courtney Mauldin, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Syracuse University.

Some things banned in dress codes, such as hate speech or hate symbols, can actually do the intended job of protecting students, however. Symbols or wording that promote racism, homophobia, or intolerance should be banned by school dress codes, Mauldin said, because dress codes, like all other equity and school climate initiatives, should aim to make all students feel welcome.

"We have to have some very hard and fast things about what's not allowed or tolerated," Mauldin said. "But we can't simultaneously, in that same section of the handbook, criminalize or stigmatize people's culture and religious practices."

Schools have had restrictions on dress for decades, though some of them have been challenged in court. In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Des Moines district violated students' First Amendment rights to free speech after it suspended them for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. But the high court has never ruled on a school dress code in its entirety.

Schools began widely implementing modern-day dress codes and uniforms in the 1990s as a response to "increasing student-discipline problems, particularly from gang violence," according to the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University. Gang-related symbols and clothing items began to be banned, for example, as well as clothing that obscures students' faces and makes it hard to identify intruders on campus.

But as the American student body has diversified, many district dress codes still cater to the dominant white culture, Mauldin said. This is evident in schools banning items of clothing, or hairstyles associated with certain groups, like braids or dreadlocks.

Fifty nine percent of dress codes have rules about students' hairstyles that disproportionately impact Black students, the GAO report found.

"A lot of the origins of some of the policies, practices and traditions that we have in school, they're antiquated," Mauldin said. "They come from decades ago, when schools were designed for a certain group of people in mind, which was very much white-dominant culture."

In addition, the enforcement of dress codes is often discriminatory, as the GAO found. Educators who enforce them often unfairly target students of color, LGBTQ students, and girls.

That's because a lot of school dress codes are gendered, and over 90 percent ban clothing worn predominantly by girls.

For example, dress codes sometimes mandate that boys are prohibited from wearing long hair, or specify that girls are required to wear skirts of a certain length.

"There are dress codes, of course, that do distinguish based on gender on their face," said Linda Morris, a staff attorney in the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. "But I would say that there are also other dress codes that are not facially gendered, but still include language that is clearly gendered, and it's clearly targeted at girls, and targeted at hairstyles or pieces of clothing disproportionately worn by students of color."

Enforcing dress codes also can require adults to touch children to measure the length of their skirts or the width of their shoulder straps, which can be unsafe and demeaning, according to Morris.

The U.S. Department of Education is in the process of developing some model policies for schools.

To create their own dress codes that don't reinforce gender or racial stereotypes, districts need to think about the message they're sending to students, Mauldin said. For example, does using words like provocative and revealing unfairly target girls' clothing by implying that girls are dressing a certain way to gain sexual attention or to prompt a strong reaction?

"Those words alone, a very problematic message to girls in a school," Mauldin said. "Also it's a problematic message to all students in the school about what a woman is supposed to look like, how she should be described, and how she should present herself in society."

Equity audits are also good way to analyze what proportion of school discipline is related to dress code violations, and which groups of students are most impacted by it.

"You have to do something with that data and let it speak to transform your policies," Mauldin said. "And you might need to change these policies because overwhelmingly they [impact] particular groups of students."

Students are often the drivers of dress code changes in schools, Morris said, because they advocate against dress codes they find restrictive. Schools should listen to their students and think about the message they're trying to convey through what is banned and what isn't included in a dress code, both experts said.

"You don't want students to feel like there's something wrong with their identities," Mauldin said.

Education Issues, Explained

Go deeper on important K-12 issues with these research-based background explainers from Education Week.

Eesha Pendharkar is a reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in education.

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What are they, who do they serve, and do they need to be changed?

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School dress codes have been a topic of debate between students, parents and administrators for decades. While students have sought out avenues for free expression and individuality through their attire, many schools have instituted these policies in an effort to minimize classroom distractions, reduce emphasis on students' socioeconomic disparities and keep schools safe.

Nearly 20% of public schools in the 2019-2020 school year required students to wear a uniform and 44% enforced a "strict" dress code, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Often schools ban items like hooded sweatshirts, baggy coats or jackets and caps, saying these items make it easier for students to hide drugs or weapons, or harder for staff to identify students. Everyday attire like sweatpants, athletic shorts and leggings are also frequently prohibited.

And while the reasons for instituting dress codes often revolve around equity and safety, research shows these policies affect students unequally, with girls and students of color disproportionately facing consequences. In many cases, enforcement makes these students feel less safe, not more.

"I think that the schools where we see the over-policing of dress and the enforcement of dress codes, it's not surprising that those are mostly students of color," says Courtney Mauldin, an assistant professor of educational leadership in the teaching and leadership department at the Syracuse University School of Education. "There's a lot of traditional, antiquated ideas around what it has to look like to do school. And I think people have good intentions, but they're very slow to change when it rubs up against what they've known."

The result of these policies, the report found, is that this subset of students often faces more disciplinary action related to their attire, which in turn causes them to be removed from class more frequently and miss out on more instructional time. The report calls on the U.S. Department of Education to provide resources to school districts to help them make their dress code policies more equitable.

In an email statement to U.S. News, the department said it will evaluate "effective ways to share information with school communities regarding ways to fulfill students' civil rights on this important issue."

Who Do Dress Codes Target?

In 2020, two Black students in Houston were suspended when school administrators determined their hair, which they wore in dreadlocks, did not comply with the school's grooming policy, Houston Public Media reported. Policies on hairstyles are often included in school dress codes.

GAO estimated that 93% of school districts have some kind of dress code or policy, though not all of them are considered "strict." More than 90% of those rules prohibit clothing typically worn by female students: items such as "halter or strapless tops," "skirts or shorts shorter than mid-thigh," and "yoga pants or any type of skin tight attire," the report says. Meanwhile, it found that only 69% of districts were as likely to prohibit male students for wearing similar clothing, like a "muscle shirt."

"There can't be any skin showing," she says. "It's very one-sided and very sexist, to say the least, no matter what. The reasoning that they usually give is so that way you're not distracting anyone."

The GAO report also found that about 60 percent of dress codes require staff members to measure students' bodies and clothing to make sure they comply, which can involve adults touching students, GAO reported. "Consequently, students, particularly girls, may feel less safe at school," the report states.

Financially, dress codes can also be a challenge for low-income families, especially if they're required to buy specific clothes to adhere to a uniform.

However, income disparities are also among the reasons some schools put dress codes in place. Uniform policies can help to disguise "the haves and have-nots," says David Verta, principal at Hammond Central High School in Indiana.

Other policies significantly affect students of minority racial or cultural groups, the report found. For example, more than 80% of districts ban head coverings such as hats, bandanas and scarves, while only about one-third say they allow religious exemptions and "a few" allow for cultural or medical exemptions.

"Are we actually targeting clothing, or is this specific to targeting a student's identity?" Mauldin says. "Because if we're targeting student's identities, then we're sending a message that you don't belong here and you're disrupting the space simply by being, and that's not the message that we want to send to students, especially if schools are supposed to be these places of learning and joy and belonging."

What Student and Parents Can Do

Under federal law, dress codes cannot be explicitly discriminatory. While dress codes may specify acceptable types of attire, they cannot differ "based on students' gender, race, religion or other protected characteristics," according to the American Civil Liberties Union, citing civil rights law and the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantee. For example, public schools cannot dictate that male students can't wear a skirt, or female students can't wear a suit and tie, if one is confirmed acceptable for the other.

"Educators are human and we are learning and making changes, but we have to learn from families if there is something we are missing," she says. "We want students to feel comfortable and happy to be in school."

Student voice is key to effecting change and first-hand stories can help, McNeiley says.

One avenue for student advocacy is social media. "Platforms like TikTok and Instagram allow youth to raise awareness around issues in their schools and community," Mauldin says. "This often gets the attention of school and district leaders."

What Schools Can Do

If dress code issues arise in a classroom, educators should handle them discreetly so as not to embarrass a student, says McNeiley, who was previously a middle school counselor. She says doing this goes a long way in building positive relationships with students.

Often teachers are simply following their school's policy so as to do their job. But Mauldin challenges educators to question the status quo and think critically about how their school's dress codes could be problematic. She says administrators should regularly audit their discipline data and see if it reveals any trends of unconscious bias related to race and dress code.

Cardillo says schools and parents should also prioritize educating students at the elementary and middle school levels about boundaries and how to look at their peers respectfully without sexualizing them.

School administrators need to listen to their students and adapt to the changing environment around them, Mauldin says. She notes that formal dress is becoming less a part of work culture than it was years ago, with many jobs offering work from home options.

The new policy, implemented prior to the 2022-2023 academic year, allows students to wear clothing that is comfortable and expresses their self-identified gender. Students can wear religious attire "without fear of discipline or discrimination," it states.

"Some kids were not happy just because they had to figure out what to wear. It was so easy for them just to put on the khaki pants and a polo," says Verta, whose school is in the School City of Hammond district. "But overall, I think our kids are a lot happier now without it."

It's a policy that McNeiley says she's proud of and hopes other districts can use as a model.

"In general, in education, there has to be some kind of common sense," she says. "Because at the end of the day, you have to go back to the students ... (and do) what's best for them."

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Students of color and girls are disproportionately punished for violating these policies.

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5 things public schools can and can't do when it comes to dress codes, ACLU, 2017.
Provides "a few of the basics on what public schools can and can't do when it comes to dress codes."

ACLU of Massachusetts challenges Malden charter school's discriminatory hair policy, ALCU of Massachusetts, 2017
Provides information and links to additional sources about a challenge to a school policy prohibiting students from wearing their hair in braids with extensions.

Public school student free speech: a primer, National Constitution Center, 2018
Discusses basic rights and the distinction between college and high school students.

Student speech, ACLU
Includes symbolic speech, such as dress, as well as more traditional issues, like school papers and theater productions

When school dress codes discriminate, National Education Association, 2018.
"While a dress code is supposed to make the school environment more conducive to learning, it frequently does the opposite."

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Massachusetts law about student dress codes and freedom of expression

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5 things public schools can and can't do when it comes to dress codes, ACLU, 2017. Provides "a few of the basics on what public schools can and can't do when it comes to dress codes."

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Information about the laws and policies affecting students of all ages in an educational setting, including laws pertaining to students with disabilities, students in higher education, and students impacted by civil rights violations.

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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

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State Regulations - Education Laws and Regulations

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The goal of the Massachusetts public K-12 education system is to prepare all students for success after high school. Massachusetts public school students are leading the nation in reading and math and are at the top internationally in reading, science, and math according to the national NAEP and international PISA assessments.

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