Nashville Schools Move to All Standard Attire for Students

Starting school year 2007-2008 all students of Nashville Schools will have to wear standard attire. As one can imagine, the move was not made without protest, but the school board is determined that this will be the directive for all metropolitan Nashville Schools for the foreseeable future.

Standard attire is not school uniform. Although the two are often confused, standard attire does not constitute a uniform. Instead the standardization outlines kinds and colors of clothes to be worn by students in Metro Nashville Public Schools. The district will not provide the clothes nor tell parents which specific items or brands to buy.

Standard Attire in Nashville Schools- What does it Entail?

Standard attire will consist of blue, black or khaki slacks, shorts, or skirt and a white or navy blue collared shirt. The mandated attire is intended to give students a clean and professional look. Certain Nashville Schools have elected to add other color shirts which are allowed (up to 4 additional) by the school board.

In addition to color and kind, standard attire also addresses style in the following ways. All shirts are to be tucked in. Although not explicitly stated in the policy, tucked in shirts which give a neater look, might be a deterrent during fights. The loose tail of a shirt is often used to grab a student during a fist fight. In addition, pants can not be worn in a loose or saggy manner. This is done to combat the "gang" look of a lot of young men today.

There is some wiggle room in the new standards of attire of Nashville Schools. As noted above, schools can endorse other color shirts including the school''s colors. School logos are permitted as well. In addition, the standard attire of Nashville Schools can be suspended temporarily for things like spirit week when students may dress up for "retro day" or "cowboy day" or "mythology day" or the like.

Nashville Schools has also established a waiver process. Students can get a waiver out of standard attire for various reasons. If religious practice requires a different style of dress such as a burka or headdress, this can be permitted. Waivers are also allowed for medical reasons or special education needs.

Standard Attire in Nashville Schools- Will it Solve Anything?

Nashville Schools, like the schools in most cities, have been plagued by a number of issues in recent years that have led to difficulties in the classrooms. Instituting standard attire is one step that Nashville Schools hope will cut down on gang violence and socio-economic stress that is often played out in the clothes that students wear. It''s a good step forward towards addressing the city''s problems, but let''s just hope that the powers that be in Nashville Schools see it as just one small step in a line of others that will boost performance in the educational system.

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit Metro Nashville Public Schools