This essay examines the influence of a mandatory school-uniform dress code on academic achievement and discipline infractions. In addition, student gender and type of school district were compared to show the influence of this policy. Only schools that implemented a mandatory school-uniform policy in 1996 and had data for discipline infractions and academic achievement for the 1995-96 and 1996-97 school years were eligible for inclusion in the study. Subjects consisted of students in a southern Florida school district located in a predominately rural area. The final sample included 6 middle schools and 80 elementary schools from 2 school districts. Results show that elementary-school students in both rural and urban school districts demonstrated improvement in academic achievement for the first year following the implementation of the school-uniform policy. The discipline infractions of out-of-school suspensions and juvenile referrals had a statistically significant improvement. Middle-school students did not have a significant decrease for discipline infractions for the school year 1996-97. The numbers of students not promoted to the next grade showed a significant effect by district type but not by gender. Further research is needed on the importance of dress to influence educators as they help students achieve a healthier self-esteem. (Contains 15 references.) (RJM)