SCHOOL UNIFORM STUDY

SCHOOL UNIFORM STUDY

OVERVIEW Rep. John Quinones offers a local bill requiring mandatory school uniforms in all OCPS schools (December 2006) School Board Chair Karen Ardaman addressed the Orange County delegation (January 2007) *Polk County official presented to the 21 st Century Competitiveness Committee chaired by Rep. David Simmons (February 2007) Uniform study provided to the delegation (November 2007) *Polk County is currently the only district in Florida with a mandatory uniform policy.

School Uniforms FINDINGS Based on Florida DOE data there is no impact on academic achievement in Polk County Schools compared to Orange County Schools Based on Florida DOE data there is no impact to crime and violence rates in Polk compared to Orange Based on Florida DOE data there is no significant evidence that uniforms impact academic achievement or crime and violence within OCPS Educational Research Service (ERS), national research is inclusive Current OCPS Policy Local school s s decision School community SAC and PTSA

DISTRICT DRESS CODE ORANGE The dress and grooming of Orange County Public Schools students shall contribute to the health and safety of the individual, promote a positive educational environment, and not disrupt the educational activities and processes of the school. These minimum standards of dress and grooming apply to all students in the public schools of Orange County, unless a specific exemption is granted by the principal. Any request for an exemption shall be made to the principal. Individual schools are expected to use the district dress and grooming guidelines as minimum standards, but are encouraged to extend their own standards to meet the uniqueness of their school community. POLK Students are required to wear appropriate clothing according to the situation and the grade level involved. Students in grades K-8 K 8 Uniform Dress Code: Subject to the terms and conditions set forth below, the School Board has adopted this policy providing for a uniform dress code pertaining to all students in grades kindergarten through eighth.

ORANGE AND POLK DISTRICT STATE GRADE COMPARISON 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Orange County B B B B Polk County C C B C Source: Florida Department of Education

ORANGE AND POLK Ten Compared Elementary School Grade Average 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 Orange County C B B Polk County B B B Source: Florida Department of Education

ORANGE AND POLK Ten Compared Middle School Grade Average 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 Orange County C C B Polk County C C B Source: Florida Department of Education

ORANGE AND POLK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PERCENT OF CRIME AND VIOLENCE Percent of Crime & Violence 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% 0% 7% 3% 2% 2% 4% 3% 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 School Year ORANGE COUNTY % OF CRIME/VIOLENCE POLK COUNTY % OF CRIME/VIOLENCE Source: Florida Department of Education

ORANGE AND POLK MIDDLE SCHOOL PERCENT OF CRIME AND VIOLENCE Percent of Crime & Violence 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 24% 10% 11% 7% 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 School Year Orange County % of Crime\Violence Polk County % of Crime\Violence 13% 5% Source: Florida Department of Education

ORANGE AND POLK DISTRICT SUSPENSION RATES ORANGE POLK 2005-06 IN SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS 5% 9% 2005-06 OUT OF SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS 6% 11% Source: Florida Department of Education

ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOL COMPARISON UNIFORM VS STANDARD DRESS CODE STATUS ISS PERCENT OSS PERCENT CRIME AND VIOLENCE PERCENTAGE SCHOOL GRADE NORTHLAKE PARK UNIFORMS 2.1% 4.0% 0.9% A METROWEST STANDARD 2.5% 0.5% 1.1% A BLANKNER UNIFORMS 1.0% 5.7% 13.1% A ARBOR RIDGE STANDARD 7.1% 0.7% 0.8% A WILLIAM S MAXEY UNIFORMS 0.0% 5.0% 4.6% A TANGELO PARK STANDARD 0.0% 8.8% 2.9% A RIDGEWOOD PARK UNIFORMS 1.2% 6.8% 7.2% B PINELOCH STANDARD 0.1% 3.8% 1.7% A Source: OCPS Principal Survey

CONCLUSION Since there is no national or FLDOE evidence that school uniforms significantly impact student achievement or crime and violence, OCPS current policy seems appropriate. School uniforms can provide other benefits to a particular school such as school spirit, positive culture and pride when embraced by that schools community.