School dress codes are designed to help build community cohesion and to eliminate classroom distractions so students can focus on their schoolwork. But despite these good intentions, in practice, dress codes often are more about enforcing conformity on students, and they often fall unfairly on girls and students of color.
Many school dress codes uphold outdated gender norms and may even require girls to purchase more clothing than their male counterparts. Underlying many dress codes is a presumption that girls must conform to a set of rules to avoid distracting their male classmates, burdening them mentally, emotionally, and financially. Instead, we should encourage boys to respect their female classmates regardless of what they’re wearing, modeling what we want in society.