Camden’s new high school uniform policy bars students from wearing all black, and not everyone is happy
Acting Camden Schools Superintendent Davida Coe-Brockington says the district plans to implement a policy banning students at its Camden High campus from wearing all-black outfits.
When school opens in September, students at four Camden high schools will have a new dress code: no all-black outfits.
Acting Superintendent Davida Coe-Brockington said the South Jersey school system plans to better enforce a long-standing policy at the Camden High complex.
The complex houses four schools in separate wings that enroll a total of about 1,200 students: Camden High, Charles Brimm Medical Arts, Creative Arts, and the Big Picture Learning Academy.
Each school has uniforms, with students required to wear khaki pants and a shirt based on their school colors. Instead, Coe-Brockington said students have donned black shirts and pants, making it difficult for staff to easily identify which school a student attends.
“This decision was made because students were not following the uniform policy,” Coe-Brockington said in a statement. “We will work with students daily to ensure enforcement.”
At Creative Arts, for example, students may wear a teal, white, or black shirt and khaki or black bottoms. Big Picture students must wear a red or black shirt.
Coe-Brockington said stricter enforcement will enable school officials to more easily identify students who attend the wrong lunch period or skip class.
But some have voiced concerns about the change.
Camden High history teacher Keith Benson worries that the stricter uniform stance may lead some students to skip school. Camden’s chronic absenteeism rate is among the highest in the state. About 46% of Camden’s students were chronically absent for the 2023-24 school year, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
“For me as a teacher, I just want to see kids in the classroom,” Benson said. “I’m just happy to see kids in school.”
Kimberly Brito, 18, a rising senior at Brimm, said students have become accustomed to wearing all-black. She said students should have an opportunity to weigh in on the change.
“Students deserve to have a say on what will effect their daily life,” Brito said. “It’s unfair and it’s kind of unwarranted.”
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In the Philadelphia School District, uniform policies vary and administrators give building-level leaders latitude to set school-by-school standards.
At South Philadelphia High, for instance, students must wear black or khaki bottoms or non-ripped jeans and a black or official South Philadelphia High School T-shirt.
At Science Leadership Academy, a Center City magnet school, there’s no uniform, but students “must dress respectfully in such a way that their dress does not interfere with another student’s learning. All students are required to keep a white lab coat at school.”
Some schools nationwide have banned students from wearing hoodies, saying they can pose a security risk because they can obscure students’ faces.
Last year, a middle school in El Paso, Texas, barred students from wearing all-black, citing mental health issues. The district said the clothing was “associated with depression and mental health issues and/or criminality.”
Camden has a uniform policy based on school colors for the entire district of nearly 6,000 students. In an announcement last week, the district said the all-black outfit ban would take effect immediately at the shared campus. It doesn’t apply in other district schools.
Eastside High, Camden’s fifth public high school, had few problems with students not properly wearing their uniforms — orange, black, or white shirts and black or khaki bottoms, said Kevin Waters, a longtime school counselor.
Waters said students not properly dressed were stopped by security at the entrance. Parents were called to bring the required clothing to the school, he said.
Rather than send students home, the school gave in-school suspensions in a special room where students completed their schoolwork, he said.
“Parents are the key. Your responsibility is to make sure they have the uniform on,” said Waters, who retired earlier this month. “You have to be consistent.”
Coe-Brockington said the Camden High complex would use restorative practices, not punitive, to enforce the uniform policy. The district has loaner uniforms available, and some students are eligible for vouchers, she said.
“We want students in school, not home,” said Coe-Brockington, who was the longtime principal at Creative Arts until she was tapped to serve as interim superintendent.
Health and physical education teacher Karen Borrelli said uniforms help promote a sense of community in school and eases competition and bullying. Critics say they stifle students’ creativity.
“Everyone is dressing the same. Now you can focus just on your studies,” Borrelli said.
Benson said he would rather see the district crack down on cellphones and electronic devices in the classroom, which have become a distraction for learning.
Gov. Phil Murphy has called for the state to develop a model policy for New Jersey’s more than 600 districts to limit students’ cell phone use during class.
Staff writer Kristen A. Graham contributed to this article.