Schools often have a dress code that requires school uniforms or that limits clothing styles—such as policies of no tank tops, shorts, low-cut tops, pants worn below the waistline, or suggestive, provocative, or controversial messages. Some schools extend these dress code policies to hairstyles, headwraps, hair color, and facial hair.

These policies are sometimes challenged by students on free speech grounds (under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) and on discrimination grounds. Schools are required to meet a high burden to justify restricting their students’ right to freedom of speech.

Each school policy and claim of a violation of law must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis but schools are generally allowed to restrict clothing, speech, and hairstyle choices only if they would likely disrupt the educational environment of the school and interfere with school activities—including by causing tension and discord among the students or teachers.

In South Dakota, as in other states, schools have the authority to implement dress codes and uniform policies. These policies may regulate clothing, hairstyles, and other forms of personal expression. While schools can set such policies, they must also respect students' rights to free speech under the First Amendment. Challenges to dress code policies often arise when students feel that their rights to free expression or protection from discrimination are being infringed upon. However, schools can legally enforce dress codes if they can demonstrate that the restrictions are necessary to prevent disruption to the educational environment or to maintain safety and order. This means that clothing or hairstyles that are deemed to cause tension, distraction, or conflict within the school setting may be regulated. Each situation where a dress code policy is contested would be assessed individually, considering the specific circumstances and the nature of the claimed rights violation.