Linden is the latest district to try out a loose-knit version of a uniform school dress code. Educators there stress they are not requiring students to wear uniforms but are encouraging them to conform to a more uniform look.
School administrators maintain that since parents are not required to buy specific pants or shirts, the new policy does not amount to requiring a uniform. Doesn't sound that way.
The suggested dress code at Public School No. 9, for kids from kindergarten to fifth grade, will be khaki pants and blue button-down or polo shirts for boys and blue or khaki skirts for girls.
Linden's move reflects policies adopted by other districts across the state and the nation. New Jersey law says a uniform policy can be adopted by a school but must be approved by the district's board, which has to determine that uniforms "will enhance the school learning environment."
Although the New Jersey School Boards Association has no exact numbers on schools opting to go with uniforms, anecdotal evidence suggests that only a relative handful of the state's 2,422 schools have done so. For good reason.
There's nothing to suggest eliminating fashion competition in schools makes them safer or leaves students more focused on academics. That was the conclusion of a University of Missouri professor who has studied the uniform issue.
Opposition to uniforms in public schools doesn't mean students should be allowed to walk into a classroom looking like they survived the mosh pit at Ozzfest. But imposing a fashion straitjacket isn't the answer either.