Can School Dress Code Violate First Amendment Rights ?

The clothes that people wear are one of the various ways in which an individual can express themselves. Ever since I was little I can remember the public school system always restricting what I wore. I remember instances where I, a twelve year old girl would be sent to the office on a hot day in June for wearing a tank top. My mother would be called and be asked to bring a t-shirt that would be less distracting or more appropriate to fit dress code standards. I recall this happening over the years in the public school system to virtually everyone. From girls to boys and even teachers, the public school system takes away the freedom of one's expression. I even recall the principal announcing that the school system could in fact do what they wanted because we lose our rights in school.

In the eighth grade I distinctly remember this one instance where a girl in my class liked to use clothing as a way to express her beliefs. She wore shirts, bracelets, and even hats supporting and raising awareness for lesbian and gay rights. My middle school especially targeted this girl for using clothing to express herself. Everyday she would come in and wear something to stand for what she believed in and everyday she would be given a plain t-shirt to cover what she was wearing or asked to remove her accessories and then sit in detention after school. This memory came back to me when I came across a dispute brought about in a Tennessee school. In Sequoayh High school was where a boy was told he could not wear a shirt for the GSA (gay-straight alliance) club. The school actually had to review their dress code and allow the boy to wear shirts like these because this act by the school was violating his first amendment right. The first amendment protects the right to express oneself through clothing among other things. Clothing everywhere is how people not only express their beliefs but show support for what they believe in. Government institutions can not tell one how to dress as long as it does not cause "substantial disruption" (ACLU) . Had I understood my rights under the first amendment when I attended public school, I would have felt much more comfortable expressing myself via my clothing.  

https://www.aclu.org/news/tennessee-high-school-affirms-students-first-amendment-rights-after-dispute-over-gay-straight