ProCon’s School Uniform Quiz

Question: What did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in 1969, in the famous Tinker case, about students wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War?

Answer: The Supreme Court concluded that the armbands were legally protected forms of speech and expression because they were strongly associated with a particular message.

Question: When students at Charter Day School in Leland, North Carolina, legally challenged a school ban on girls wearing pants or shorts, what was the outcome?

Answer: The U.S. Court of Appeals concluded in 2022 that “the skirts requirement” at school advanced “stereotypes with potentially devastating consequences for young girls.”

Question: What did a federal judge rule in 1995 about the wearing of “sagging pants” in schools?

Answer: In a 1995 case, Bivens by Green v. Albuquerque Public Schools, a federal district judge ruled that the wearing of “sagging pants” was not a legally protected form of expression because it did not convey a clear “message.”

Question: The ProCon feature discusses public schools and parochial schools. What does parochial mean?

Answer: Parochial means something is related to a church or church parish.

Question: Which of the following is not an argument for school uniforms?

Answer: Opponents of school uniforms often argue that uniforms restrict students’ free expression.

Question: Although school uniform mandates are less common for older students, what do schools tend to use instead?

Answer: Strict dress codes, instead of mandated school uniforms, are present in more than half of all U.S. middle and high schools.

Question: In England, in recent centuries, school uniforms have been largely associated with which social class?

Answer: At one of England’s most prestigious schools, Eton, students were required to wear black top hats and tails on and off campus until 1972.

Question: Which U.S. president said, “If it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms”?

Answer: This statement was part of Pres. Bill Clinton’s 1996 State of the Union address.