A Times Editorial

Uniform policy goes too far

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 23, 1999

Polk County Schools Superintendent Glenn Reynolds is so anxious to force students into uniforms that he suggested jailing parents who fail to comply. "We believe it's contributing to the delinquency of a child," Reynolds told the Lakeland Ledger before later backing away from the comment.

Reynolds' authoritarian attitude points up precisely what's wrong with mandatory school uniforms. They give school officials extraordinary power over what should be a parental prerogative, without any firm evidence that uniforms enhance learning or discipline.

Polk County schools' new mandatory uniform policy is one of the strictest in the country. It applies to students in kindergarten through eighth grade and will affect about 50,000 of the district's 77,000 students. The only exception will be for religious reasons.

School Board members who adopted the policy in a 4-3 vote say the uniforms will improve discipline, eliminate class consciousness and create school pride. But a group of parents protesting the policy says that it infringes on their constitutional right to free expression. They are talking to the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and private lawyers about possible legal action.

The School Board should hasten a retreat. Their policy goes too far in forcing uniforms on families who don't want them. In schools where students, parents, teachers and administrators all voluntarily agree to adopt school uniforms, the policy may have the positive effects Polk officials have claimed. However, a mandatory policy is likely to be counterproductive.

Simply put, it's outside the School Board's appropriate jurisdiction to dictate how students should dress beyond keeping clothes from being disruptive.

Polk County school officials made another gaffe when they turned their new uniform policy into a marketing opportunity. A group of parents were angered when they began receiving advertising by local department stores selling the uniforms. The school district sold the names and home addresses of students to area stores, alarming parents who wondered who else had access to such information about their children.

Schools have a dual responsibility to educate students and to develop productive, creative individuals who will grow up to lead the nation and bring innovation to our marketplace. Polk County should remember that it's hard to be an individual when the system punishes anything but conformity.

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