School District OKs Uniform Policy
Elementary and junior high students at Santa Ana Unified School District will be wearing uniforms as part of the district’s effort to improve campus safety and allow children to focus on schoolwork rather than clothes.
The district passed a mandatory uniform policy for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The policy takes effect July 1.
The school board recommends navy blue bottoms and white tops, but each school can pick its own colors. Parents also can opt out of the program.
The high-profile issue was one of the first matters decided by newly elected board members Nativo V. Lopez and Aida Espinoza, whose support of uniforms ended months of delays. The new board members were joined by trustee Robert W. Balen. Trustees Audrey Yamagata-Noji and Rosemarie Avila opposed the idea.
A little more than half of those attending a recent public hearing opposed mandatory uniforms. But a parent survey indicated that about 75% favored uniforms.
--COMPILED BY JEFF KASS, JOHN POPE AND LESLIE EARNEST
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