Americans spend around $1 billion dollars per year on school uniforms. A general uniform typically cost $25-$200 per outfit as compared to a school wardrobe which cost $100-$600.
U.S schools with a minority population of 50% or more than four times as likely to require uniforms than schools with a minority population of 20-49%
Pros of wearing school uniforms
Cons of wearing school uniforms
2013 uniform stats
- Students experience less pressure in deciding what to wear each morning
- Uniforms cost less overall
- Student attendance improves
- Encourages discipline
- Students take less time to get ready in the morning
- Children are free to concentrate on lessons
- Uniforms promotes a reduction on school violence
- A decrease in peer pressure to wear trendier brands
- Uniforms can be reused and recycle
- School intruders are more easily identified in a school of uniformed children
Cons of wearing school uniforms
- Uniforms detract from a child's individuality
- Students will always find ways to express themselves, leading to less desirable forms of expression such as tattooing and piercings
- School should be a place where diverse is celebrated
- The cost of uniform is prohibited, especially when a family includes more than one school-aged child
- An unfair additional cost to tax-payers sending their children to public school
- Financial burden to lower income families
- A child in a uniform may be a target of bullies from another school
- Uniforms may lessen a child's comfort level while attending school
- Enforcing rules about uniforms is difficult
2013 uniform stats
- 23% of schools across the U.S require a uniform
- The leader of the school uniform pack, 95% of public schools in New Orleans require a uniform
- The average cost to clothe an individual child in a uniform is $249 per school year
- School uniforms make up 1 billion in back-to-school sales