All students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools might soon have to wear uniforms — but it’s not a done deal yet.
The Miami-Dade County School Board voted Wednesday to explore the feasibility of a district-wide mandatory uniform policy.
The plan passed unanimously as part of the consent agenda, which is reserved for items that are considered noncontroversial, and are passed together as a block.
Board Member Roberto Alonso, who sponsored the measure, says there are a lot of potential benefits to school uniforms.
“Increased student discipline, increased respect for teachers,” Alonso said at a recent school board committee meeting, “promotion of group spirit and school spirit, higher academic standards maintained through uniformity, decreased strain on parental budgets, and a decrease in student concerns for social status through fashion.”
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The measure directs district staff to review the feasibility of implementing a consistent district-wide mandatory uniform policy, to develop a disciplinary plan for schools to enforce it, and to report back to the school board with their findings in February.
According to district staff, all MDCPS elementary and middle schools already require uniforms, as well as many high schools. Just a handful of schools serving students in 9th through 12th grades don’t have uniforms, according to district Deputy Superintendent John Pace.
The proposal would extend the uniform requirement to all students from pre-K through 12th grade.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, school uniform policies may promote “school safety, improve discipline, and enhance the learning environment.” But some academics — and students — question how effective uniforms really are.
At a district committee meeting earlier this month, Board Member Mary Blanco raised concerns about what the change could mean for students enrolled in the district’s dual enrollment programs — such as the School of Advanced Studies — which are located on college campuses.
“Where those students are sometimes integrated with the Miami Dade College students, I don’t know that we would want them identified by a uniform if they’re in the classroom together,” Blanco said. “I don’t know that we would want that when they're on the campus with the college students.”
Under the plan, it would be up to advisory councils made up of teachers, parents and students at individual schools to decide what clothes students can wear — usually based on the schools’ colors.
Even though a relatively small number of the district’s 330,000 students would be directly affected if the plan is fully implemented, Alonso acknowledged that his proposal may not be the most popular.
“I definitely know that I’m not going to be a favorite among students,” Alonso said. “But at the end of the day, we were elected to make the right decision for our students and for our schools.”
