Ha Ha! I'm glad everyone is fainting around here! Its true! My husband intercepted a note from a girl to a boy two weeks ago... in it she described in detail what she wanted to do with him. It was very graphic. This may or may not be a direct result of dress code restrictions - you could plausibly argue it either way. I feel, as carol said, that kids are there for learning. Not for anything else and we seem to have lost sight of that.

My husband's school district does give discounts towards clothes because it is such an impoversihed district. Even the poorest kids somehow find themselves walking in Tommy Hifiger shirts - they'll just have one instead of eight. But that was THEIR choice to spend their money on one shirt over more.

As for my private school, they spelled out where to buy the clothes. It was Catholic school, so you all know what that uniform was like! We were not allowed to wear makeup, funky hair colors, or earrings that dangled. No rings or necklaces.

Yes, we had to pay for the uniform out of pocket, without any help from the school. But think of it this way: Most parents buy clothes for school throught the year. I spend an average of $200 per kid in September, a bit more at Christmas, and then again for spring clothes. I figure about $400 per kid a year - thats outside sports and their casual or dressy stuff... this is all stuff for them to wear to school. We're not buying extravagantly. I had three unifroms that I rotated and mom washed during the week. Each uniform today might cost $60 complete... so if I buy three, then my total cost per kid is $180. WOW that is a consderable savings! So I don't think the cost of uniforms should be considered as an issue.

sirrahsim: I thought you looked like a young-un! When you know its right, then why fight it? I took a bit longer, I was a month away from 28 when I got married.