Getting rid of school uniforms

For 20 years, students in Lima City Schools in Lima, Ohio, had to wear “campus wear”: solid-colored polos, Oxford shirts and sweaters, with no jeans, leggings or sweatpants. In 2026, the superintendent’s new Student Advisory Council set out to change it. Here’s how:

They gathered evidence. The council surveyed 242 students at Lima Senior High School. 145 of them said their uniforms weren’t affordable, 60% said the policy didn’t help them focus, and 72% said it limited self-expression. They also did the math: the cheapest uniform pants they could find for adults cost $18, while a pair of leggings cost $4.

They took on the original argument. The district had adopted uniforms partly to save families money. Junior Angela Fronzaglia, the council member who also served as the student representative on the school board, argued that 20 years of price changes and secondhand shopping had erased that advantage.

They built consensus. Before going to the school board, the council first presented its proposal at a public community meeting.

They asked the school board. A week later, in April 2026, they brought the proposal to the board with one specific ask: allow untorn jeans, sweatpants, leggings, and school-appropriate T-shirts.

The board pushed back, and they kept going. Board members worried about how teachers would enforce the new rules, so instead of voting, the district surveyed families and staff. About 80% of parents were in favor; teachers were more evenly split.

Policy approved! In May 2026, the board voted to expand the dress code to allow jeans without rips, corduroys, cargo pants, solid-colored sweatpants, and T-shirts. Leggings didn’t make the cut, but that August, Lima students started school without a uniform requirement for the first time in 20 years.

Want to try it? Start with a survey (you can run one free on our site), then send the numbers to your principal or school board with an email like this: