Well Mo, you seem to be closed to even the concept that clothing has the potential to be a distraction. Maybe you should try to imagine real-world scenarios to get a clearer picture. Should the girls be able to show midriff? Should they be able to have pierced bellybuttons showing? Should they be able to show cleavage? Should they be able to have a thong showing above their low-cut jeans? Should boys be able to wear a t-shirt with a giant smoking bong on it? Should they be allowed to have their butt-crack showing when their jeans hang low? It comes down to the kind of climate you are trying to create in the school environment. Kids naturally fight any boundaries put on them. I just can't understand yours' and others' denial of this basic fact and refusal to define and uphold even the most minimum standards. The whole country is so self-absorbed and anti-intellectual anyway maybe the idea of a quality, rigorous education is little more than a quaint fantasy from yesteryear.