NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) – School officials in New London aren’t playing around when it comes to a new uniform policy.

Elementary students who violate the dress code next year may not be allowed to participate in recess. The Board of Education approved the policy last week even though some members said they do not believe it can be enforced.

The board recently voted to make uniforms mandatory for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Members who supported the change said it will increase school pride and reduce peer pressure on students to wear name-brand clothes.

The rules spell out what clothes students can wear and when, but exceptions can be made for health reasons or to accommodate religious beliefs. Parents who can’t afford the required clothes can ask the schools for help.

A first-time violation of the policy will bring a verbal warning to the student and parent.

A second offense will prompt a written warning. A student who shows up improperly dressed for a third time will lose recess privileges until he or she starts wearing a uniform.

Two board members voted against the policy because they said it is difficult to enforce and will eventually stop being used, which is what happened with a similar policy in 1989.

“I don’t think we have the resources to enforce it,” board member Timothy West said. “The principals are busy enough without worrying about whether every student is wearing the proper blue and white.”

But Anthony Bauduccio, chairman of the board’s uniform committee and a driving force behind the policy, said the board has been supported by cases in Waterbury.

The courts there found the school district was not denying children a right to a public education by penalizing those who didn’t wear uniforms.

Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com