Student Dress Codes and the First Amendment

Richard Fossey is Paul Burdin Endowed Professor of Education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette, Louisiana and formerly held the Mike Moses Endowed Chair in Educational Leadership at the University of North Texas. Prior to entering a career in higher education, he practiced law in Anchorage, Alaska, representing Alaska school districts. Todd A. DeMitchell is a professor of education and justice studies at the University of New Hampshire. He is a former public school elementary teacher, principal, director of personnel and labor relations, and superintendent.

Fossey and DeMitchell effectively and conclusively enlighten professors, school administrators, educational scholars, researchers, and graduate students of school administration on the challenges, complexity, and controversy regarding student expression and their choice of clothing. The authors have created a resource guide book that carefully examines the problems that confront school administrators who are responsible for honoring the constitutional rights of students regarding dress while simultaneously ensuring a safe, orderly, positive, and constructive learning environment for all students. The legal authority for managing these challenges is discussed in extensive detail, as well as the implications for dress code policy and implementation. The balance among students’ First Amendment rights, school administrator responsibilities, and all students’ rights to learn are carefully discussed. This is a must read for anyone desiring detailed knowledge of matters pertaining to student dress, school law, First Amendment rights, and the rights of all students to learn in an orderly environment. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

• PrefaceChapter 1: What to Wear to School: The ControversyChapter 2: The Free Speech Rights of StudentsChapter 3: Dress Codes: Pants, Hats, and Gangs--The Clothes are the MessageChapter 4: Drugs, Politics and the Confederate Flag: Targeted Messages on Students’ ClothingChapter 5: Clothing Messages About Sex, Abortion and Sexual OrientationChapter 6: Policy Implications of Dress Codes: Balancing Rights and Responsibilities About the Authors