With the warmer weather, many kids will toss away their winter clothes in favor of shorts and tank tops.

But not students at Raymond Park Middle School. They have a dress code.

Not only are shorts prohibited for both boys and girls, so are sweatpants, cargo pants and capris, plus anything made out of denim, leather or velour.

Pants must be worn at the natural waist. Sleeveless shirts are out, as are most designs, and all shirts must have collars. Skirts or dresses should reach the knee but not the floor. The only logo allowed on anything is the Raymond Park Middle School logo.

Y-Press talked with Kathy Deck, principal of Raymond Park, and several Raymond Park students about the dress code before the school year began. Kerri Hackler, 14, Kelli Hackler, 14, Maria Watson, 14, Dusty Cowger, 14 and Ashley Moore, 13, had mixed feelings about the code.

According to Deck, the dress code at the Warren Township school is based on input by parents, students and teachers. She believes the code, in effect for two years, has had a positive effect on behavior and grades.

"I believe that the standardized wear policy allows students to stay focused in a learning environment. Clothing that distracts other students in the way that it's worn or by the very nature of the style is inappropriate in a learning environment," she said.

Deck cites statistics to back up her position.

"Since the implementation of the standardized wear policy at Raymond Park Middle School, infractions have decreased by 66 percent, tardies by 50 percent, inflammatory actions by 51 percent, horseplay by 35 percent, and the total number of in-school suspensions by 25 percent. One hundred percent of the Raymond Park Middle School staff believe the policy to be effective," she said.

But the students are split on the effectiveness of the dress code. Most said their grades aren't noticeably better, but some behaviors have improved.

"People don't tease as much," said Maria. "The whole year I've only heard people tease like this one person, that's it. They used to tease everybody for everything."

But Ashley doesn't think students treat each other better.

"There was a fight not two weeks ago over something that was silly, like a binder or something. People still tease other people about the stupidest things. They tease people about their pencils or their shoes or the way they're wearing their hair."

However, most agreed that few people are wearing clothes that are distracting.

"Before the dress code, you would see people with these big jeans. They'd be like so huge. When they'd walk by, you'd be staring. You get distracted and you don't hear what you need to," Kerri said.

Still, some students think the dress code infringes on their freedom of expression. Ashley likes to wear a T-shirt with leather pants or a skirt, and she's frustrated that she can't wear them to school.

"It's who I am," she explained.

But Dusty says kids are used to having limits on what they wear. "I'd like to buy my own stuff, but my parents have to approve it," he said.

Kelli agreed: "They have rules wherever you go."

Deck maintains that the dress code doesn't limit freedom of expression at all.

"I do not believe giving children appropriate choices in what to wear is an infringement on their First Amendment rights," she said. "I truly believe that students in an academic setting have many areas in which to express themselves that better identify who they are in the academic learning community."

Generally, students view the dress code as a necessary evil.

"I think it's good and bad because people aren't judged on what they're wearing, so that's good. But it's really bad because no one can wear what you want to wear; you have to wear the same stuff every day," Kelli said.

"It's good because you don't really have to find something that really matches. All you have is like plain stuff. And it's bad because in summertime, you're really hot when you wear pants all the time," Maria said.

Ashley said a dress code would be unnecessary if administrators paid more attention to how students wear their clothes.

"Boys should wear belts if they sag, 'cause one teacher I had, she had a pink quilt, and if somebody sagged, she made them wear that all day, and that worked, 'cause nobody else sagged after that. And girls would have to wear T-shirts or have their buttons (buttoned) all the way up so that they didn't show a lot," she said.

But most kids agreed that the dress code has had a positive effect.

"If you had everybody wearing different stuff that was too short, too tight, or doesn't look appropriate, then people will come in and think we're some kind of school that doesn't have any control or discipline," Maria said.

"They say that our school is first class, so you should dress first class," Kerri added. "I think when you dress appropriate and you're in a better environment, then you have a better mindset."

Still, there are things they would change about the dress code. Most would like to wear jeans, capris and shirts with designs on them.

"We should be able to wear jeans and have little logos on our shirts," said Ashley, who would also like to wear her leather pants.

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Michelle Foisy, 16.

REPORTERS: Amanda Finch, 13; Allison Gardner, 13; Izaak Hayes, 12; Milan Patel, 13.