The Warren County School District’s dress code seems straightforward enough.

But its administration — particularly when warm weather returned to the area last week — is not. That much is clear from the number of unhappy students who protested outside the Warren County Courthouse on Sunday.

In our opinion, the district is right to have limits on what students should wear to school. No limits leads to an environment that is not conducive to learning for both boys and girls. But how a dress code is administered is just as important as how that dress code is written. Enforcement has to be consistent from teacher to teacher or administrator to administrator.

Frankly, the district didn’t do itself any favors letting dress code violations go for a couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lax enforcement then is helping add to confusion now. The situation gets worse when a child is told by teachers or administrators in the school building their clothing is inappropriate and then told at the central administration office that the clothing is within the school’s rules, That’s not a problem with students — that’s a problem of administration.

We noted in the fall that many districts are moving to school uniforms precisely because of issues like these. We’re certainly not advocating for that here — but it’s easy to see why uniforms are an easier solution for school districts, especially when the students get mixed signals on existing policies from year to year or from different adults.