Students Finding Greater Flexibility Within School Dress Codes

The New York Times (9/2, B1, Clifford, Subscription Publication) reports that "in the great tradition of teenagers challenging authority, students at schools that require uniforms have been bending the rules a bit, showing up to class in cargo shorts, leggings and yoga pants." Rather than cracking down on this trend, "some schools are not only looking the other way at the modifications, but explicitly allowing the fashion-forward items." Beverly J. Hutton, principal of educational services for Burlington County Institute of Technology, said, "We just ask them to stay within the color scheme and to abide by the code as far as modesty." Dr. Hutton added, "They're teenagers. If you take it all away, you get rebellion." Other schools have sought greater "student buy-in" by allowing them input into the selection of uniforms.