School Uniforms Required by Board

Most Santa Ana students will be expected to wear school uniforms starting in July, after the school board approved a districtwide uniform policy, administrators said Wednesday.

After five years of extensive studies and discussions on a mandatory uniform plan, Santa Ana Unified School District trustees passed the item by a 3-2 vote late Tuesday night.

The action will require that the district’s 39,000 students in kindergarten through eighth grade wear navy and white uniforms beginning in July. Each school, however, may choose its own uniform colors with the board’s approval.

Parents can ask that their children be exempt from the policy by making a request to the school in writing and ensuring that their children comply with existing district dress codes, such as no baggy clothing, said Helen Stainer, Santa Ana area administrator.

Before Tuesday’s decision, most Santa Ana Unified schools had adopted voluntary uniform programs at the elementary and intermediate levels. A committee to study uniforms was formed last year after a vocal core of parents lobbied for more stringent uniform policies to combat gang attire, fashion competition and peer rivalry.

Santa Ana’s Uniform Study Committee also is looking into expanding the uniform policy at the high schools by 1998, administrators said.