School Uniform - By Country - United States

United States

A study conducted in 2000 found that only 23% of public, private, and sectarian schools had any sort of uniform policy in the United States at or prior to the year 2000. Over the past decade, more public schools, specifically those in urban areas, have instituted stricter dress codes, and roughly half the public schools in the United States have these more limiting dress codes.

The schools that do require uniforms, or a more common standard dress code in towns and suburbs, tend to be more casual than those in Britain or other commonwealth nations. Unlike those in Britain, school uniforms and dress codes are almost universally standard, rather than representing the school or the student body. Typically, students will wear collared, button-up shirts, with a tie for boys and a cross tie for girls, worn with khaki colored pants, and maybe a belt, depending on the age of the school's student body. Skirts are occasionally an option for girls. For instance, red, white or blue polo shirts, with a logo, with navy or khaki bottoms and a belt, was the successful uniform policy imposed Palmer Elementary School in Houston, Texas. Typically, inner city schools have polo shirts and trousers for the primary and junior high school years, and then move up to button up shirts, usually some form of tie, and dress trousers with a belt or a skirt. Schools in areas with lesser populations such as suburbs tend to keep polo shirts through the student's secondary school years, or have a standardized dress code. Dress codes vary widely among private schools, although a Catholic school uniform tends to keep the shirt and tie.