School dress codes that do harm

At the end of 2023, a school board in rural Kansas repented in the truest sense of the word: its members changed their minds.

After an eight-year-old student, a member of the Wyandotte Nation, cut his hair in order to avoid punishment for violating a rule against boys having long hair, the Girard Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously to rescind the policy. In a statement, the board explained that the ability to reflect and adapt is necessary in a fast-changing future—“whether that be curriculum and technology or teaching practices and student opportunities.”

According to a 2022 federal report, 93 percent of schools in the United States have dress codes. Ostensibly, these policies help to create an environment where students can feel safe so they can focus on learning. And in some cases, this is exactly what they do. For instance, schools that prohibit clothing with hate speech slogans or graphic depictions of violence are protecting students.