DETROIT (WXYZ) — Should public schools require uniforms? It is a controversial topic.
Proponents predicted they could create a sense of community. Now, we have some data.
An Ohio State University study published just months ago analyzed data on 6,320 elementary age children. It found school uniforms were minimally correlated with better attendance in inner city schools. However, they also were connected to a decrease in a student’s sense of belonging.
A group of students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District say they feel uniforms are harmful and are working to do something about it.
First taking a look at the history, retired 7 Action News reporter Mary Conway covered the Detroit Public Schools' new uniform policy in 2006 and why it was needed. Administrators wanted students to focus on fundamentals and not fight over fashion.
One parent we talked to back then said she was able to save money. And her daughter told us at the time that she liked the uniforms.
“At one point, a number of our children were being jumped for expensive clothing,” current school board member Sherry Gay-Dagnogo told us this week.
Gay-Dagnogo was a district teacher and mom when the district started requiring uniforms. Now, many students don’t agree with the policy.
“For one, it is unnecessarily strict,” student Brittyn Benjamin-Kelley said.
Brittyn and fellow student Hafiza Khalique attend Cass Technical High School. They’re both in a group collecting signatures on change.org, hoping to get rid of uniforms and dress code policies that restrict girls more than boys.
“It just reinforces the sexualization of young girls,” Hafiza said.
They say Cass Tech motivated students to get vaccinated by promising to eliminate the uniform requirement if students hit a target vaccination rate.
“It took vaccines to convince them to lift this very strict uniform and dress code policy. So, it shows that it is not really affecting us,” Hafiza said.
Still, they say they both have gotten in trouble for violating the dress code.
Hafiza says she got in trouble for wearing a hat when she felt cold. Brittyn says she missed a significant part of class during a test for wearing leggings.
Photo: Brittyn holds up the leggings she got in trouble for wearing
“Guess what? Nobody was distracted,” Brittyn said.
She also feels the dress code didn’t protect students who didn’t have the resources for brand-new, fancy clothing.
“There were still kids who wore clothes that didn’t fit well,” Brittyn said.
Hafiza added, “That takes away from your education. You are being forced out of class for something you wanted to wear.”
Gay-Dagnogo says the school board is taking community input on the code of conduct. She says seeing students passionately involved in civic action makes her proud.
“My heart just smiled. I like their thoughtfulness. I like the way they have expressed themselves,” Gay-Dagnogo said. “As we see young people lifting their voices, this is an opportunity for them to be involved more so in policy and talk about the ways we express empathy. That we lift up the young people who might not have the latest access to clothing.”
But safety is a priority for the district.
“We just want to make sure all our young people are safe and we have decorum, but at the same token, I think this is a conversation that has good timing,” Gay-Dagnogo said.
Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, Ph.D., told 7 Action News:
- Code of conduct is reviewed annually with community input
- Most families and employees support uniforms
- Individual schools can set their uniform policy
But Vitti says the district needs more training about gender sensitivity regarding uniforms.
Anyone who wants to share an opinion on the topic can email school board members. Contact information for them is found on the district's website.
