As an alternative to sending kids home or having them sit in a room by themselves for the remainder of the day, one Texas high school is planning on having dress code violators cover up the problem by putting on prison-style jumpsuits. In fact, it's not just the styling that's big house -- the jumpsuits are actually made by prison labor.

Not surprisingly, the plan doesn't sit well with everyone. Parents are concerned about the message the jumpsuits convey and the ACLU is worrying about infringing the students' right to express themselves. "Public school dress codes should be limited to what's necessary to guard against actual disruption to the educational process and threats to safety," said Fleming Terrell, a lawyer with the ACLU of Texas. "The jumpsuits may be just as distracting as the clothing they're replacing."

Terrell may very well be right. The one group that seems to be unconcerned -- and perhaps even looking forward to the new threads -- is the students themselves. "I don't think that jumpsuits are going to work, because my friends actually, instead of it being a punishment, they'll see it as an opportunity to be like, rebels," said Jordan Meredith, the senior class president. "I don't think there's going to be enough jumpsuits for everyone in the school." He's already heard from kids who plan to violate the dress code on purpose just to be able to wear one and is thinking of buying his own to wear.

I'm not sure I approve of dress codes (I've killed a few off during my professional career and never would have paid attention to one in school) but I also think that no matter what teachers and administrators do, kids will find a way to express themselves. As long as they do it in a positive, non-disruptive way, I don't have a problem with that.