Editorial: Focus on academics

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 | 9:39 a.m.

It should seem obvious that school is supposed to be about academics -- not about making a fashion statement -- but such is life today that adopting policies that require students to wear school uniforms is bound to create controversy. Last year the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada even filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of some parents who claimed that, among other things, the school district's uniform policies violated freedom of speech.

While the lawsuit is still pending, we were heartened to read in Monday's Las Vegas Sun that 16 Clark County campuses -- after receiving approval from at least 55 percent of those parents who returned their referendum surveys -- will have school uniform policies in place for the next school year. The 16 schools will join 15 others that already had adopted dress codes last year. Still, we were disappointed that more parents didn't take the time to send in their dress-code surveys -- no school had at least half of its parents return the forms. But another way of looking at the lack of responses is that many of those parents had no objections to instituting uniforms, so they felt no need to reply.

Ultimately, more parental involvement in all areas of a child's schoolwork and better education funding are needed to increase student achievement. But the positive impact of discipline, too, starting at home and enforced at schools -- including through the use of uniforms -- shouldn't be understated.