Personal Appearance

Many schools have dress codes that regulate the way students may express themselves through clothing, hairstyles and accessories such as buttons and armbands.  Whether a student’s personal appearance is constitutionally protected will depend on:

• whether the expression can be categorized as some sort of “pure speech” protected by the first amendment,
• if the court hearing the case recognizes a liberty interest in the type of expression in which the student is engaged, as courts may recognize this interest differently depending on the category of personal appearance (if the expression is through hairstyle or clothing) and
• whether the school’s interest in regulating the expression outweighs the student’s interest in the expression.

Is the student’s appearance or dress a form of expression under the First Amendment?

There are not clear rules that all courts follow in this area.  However, in general, personal appearance and dress that amounts to speech or expression has greater protection that personal appearances that are just assertions of one’s desire to dress how he wants or exercise his liberty.  In other words, a student conveying a message, be it political, religious, or other, will have a stronger interest in conveying that message than if he or she is simply trying to convey his or her “individuality”.  A message is protected speech under the first amendment if the speaker intends to “convey a particularized message…and in the surrounding circumstances the likelihood [is] great that the message [will] be understood by those who [view] it.”  If a message is protected under the first amendment, then a court’s decision will depend on its reading of the first amendment for students in school.  If the message is not protected under the first amendment, then the school’s ability to regulate a student’s appearance will depend on the type of appearance (hair, clothing, etc.), if the court believes students have a constitutional interest in this type of appearance, and the school’s interest in regulating the student’s appearance.

            ii.   Hairstyles

            About half of the federal courts have held that students have a constitutional interest in the length and style of their hair, and that a school must show that the appearance of a student’s hair will likely lead to a material and substantial disruption before they may regulate its length.  The other half of federal courts have held that students do not have a constitutional interest in the length of their hair.

            iii. Other expressions of personal appearance

            When it comes to forms of student expression through personal appearance other than hairstyles, courts will weigh the student’s interest in expressing him or herself with the school’s interest in regulating the expression.  Courts consistently approve school policies that regulate student hygiene, obscenity and ban revealing clothing.  In addition, some courts allow policies to stand that promote uniformity or community values, but other courts have ruled that these are not sufficient reasons to suppress student personal expression.  Some courts will also cite improved school climate and the creation of a positive learning environment as suitable reasons to regulate student clothing.