Do dress codes generally violate the First Amendment?

A dress code must be unrelated to the suppression of speech and must only regulate the type of clothing a student wears, not the speech the student wishes to convey.

For example, a dress code that forbids students from wearing ANY spaghetti strap tank top regardless of what it says on the tank top would be ok. A student wearing a Black Lives Matter spaghetti strap tank top and a student wearing a plain spaghetti strap tank top will be disciplined the same because both are spaghetti strap tank tops. The issue is not what is on either tank top, but the possible loss of students’ focus on their studies the spaghetti strap tank top may cause.

But what if the Black Lives Matter spaghetti strap tank top was a Black Lives Matter long sleeve t-shirt? The dress code does not prohibit long sleeve t-shirts, but a school administrator still tells the student to change their shirt. Does this violate the student’s First Amendment rights?

A student’s clothing may be considered speech if the student intends to convey a particular message with their clothing and there is a high likelihood that the clothing’s viewers will understand the clothing’s message. Still, the clothing cannot violate the school’s dress code. However, if a student’s clothing complies with the dress code and is considered speech, the clothing is entitled to higher First Amendment protections.

If a student wears a Black Lives Matter long sleeve t-shirt, that shirt is considered speech if 1) the student wore the shirt to convey their support for Black Lives Matter AND 2) other students would understand the shirt was worn to show support for Black Lives Matter. Here, the long sleeve t-shirt also complies with the dress code, so it is considered speech that is entitled to protection. In addition, this message would be considered political speech which gets the highest First Amendment protection.

And remember, clothing does not always have to contain words in order to be speech. Clothing that contains a picture or logo is speech as long as 1) the student intended the clothing to convey a message and 2) others would likely understand that message. For example, wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a recycling bin to promote environmental protection.

When Can a School Censor Student Speech?

Remember, student speech (including clothing that is considered speech) may be censored by a public school if the speech creates a substantial disruption. A substantial disruption requires more than just making a school official, a teacher, or another student feel uncomfortable. A substantial disruption occurs when a teacher can no longer teach a class because of the disruption or when a student is distracting others from learning.

Your school may also censor you for any speech it considers to be lewd or vulgar, or speech that promotes or advertises drugs and alcohol, which are illegal for minors.

Let’s look back at the Black Lives Matter example one more time. If your teacher does not support the Black Lives Matter Movement, your teacher cannot ask you to remove the shirt— assuming it follows the dress code. BUT if it causes a substantial disruption to the learning environment, such as students interrupting class to criticize or loudly argue about the shirt, the teacher may ask you to change.

Clothing can be a great way to express your personal style and political views, but remember, in your public school learning comes first. This means that if your speech creates a large enough disruption to the learning environment, you could be censored.