Zack Beavers, a student at Cleveland High School near Chattanooga, is dressed according to his school's SSA policies: solid-colored pants, not jeans, and a solid-colored, collared shirt, tucked in. He is also wearing his official school ID around his neck. Cleveland High School was one of two visited last month by Bedford County Board of Education members as they research Standardized School Attire. (T-G File Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge]

Metro Nashville Public Schools received an opinion this week from the Metro legal department affirming the legality of standardized school attire (SSA) as it is being implemented there.

Bedford County Board of Education has discussed the idea of implementing such a program here, and school board members traveled to the Chattanooga area last month to visit two schools where SSA is in place. They will no doubt pay attention to how the program is implemented in Metro as it begins this fall.

SSA, or a "uniform dress code" as it is sometimes called, is more than a dress code but less than a formal uniform. It strictly limits the colors and styles of clothing which are acceptable. Each plan is a little different, and Bedford County has no specific plan on the table yet, but a typical plan would prohibit blue jeans and T-shirts, requiring khaki-style pants or skirts and tucked-in solid-color collared shirts. Slogans or large logos are usually prohibited, except for approved school emblems or mascots. The list of allowed colors may be particularly short in communities which are worried about gang members flashing their colors as a sign of membership.

Metro Nashville's policy will allow only khaki-colored, navy blue or black pants, shorts or skirts. Shirts may be black, white or any of four other colors selected by each school. A principal may wish to allow his or her school's official colors as an option, for example. Clothing must be appropriately-sized, not too tight or too loose. Metro Nashville will prohibit the multi-pocketed style known as "cargo pants"; the schools that Bedford County officials visited last month do not, although one of them originally tried such a restriction.

The opinion from Metro's legal department finds that the policy as enacted in Nashville "furthers an important and substantial government interest and is not related to the suppression of student expression. The restrictions are no more than are necessary to further that interest."

The legal opinion notes that some SSA policies have run into trouble if the rules are not clear. Metro's policy allows exceptions for the uniforms of nationally-recognized student groups like Girl Scouts or JROTC, and for students whose religious beliefs, medical needs or special educational needs require a particular style of dress. The legal opinion warns that the student group exception could be challenged if principals are found to favor one student group over another, and it also encourages clarification of vague terms like "oversized" or "appropriate."

Bedford County officials say the earliest SSA would be implemented here would be fall 2008, and that public meetings would be held to solicit parent and student input on any proposed policy.