It’s impossible to walk around school without noticing someone wearing flip-flops, especially when temperatures are high.
With multiple classes having restrictions on wearing flip-flops and contrasting views among students, flip-flops prove to be a controversial piece of footwear. Despite its critics, the global flip-flop market size is predicted to grow by 6.83 billion dollars from 2024 to 2028, according to Technavio. Along with that, the shoe has proven itself on runways across the world, appearing in Hermes, Prada and Louis Vuitton’s June 2025 shows. GQ (Gentleman’s Quarterly) even coined flip-flops as the “unofficial shoe of summer 2025.”
One class that doesn’t allow flip-flops on certain days is science, where open-toed shoes are banned during most labs due to safety concerns.
“[During labs, there is] glassware that could fall and break,” biology teacher Ernest Lo said. “You’ve got sharp [items] like razor blades and scalpels. You have specimens that could fall on the floor. You have chemicals. It’s not a good idea at all [to wear flip-flops during labs], it’s very unsafe.”
Another class with a requirement for closed-toe shoes is PE.
“It would be dangerous to do PE in flippies,” PE teacher Leslie Pedrin said. “[If students] come to class in flip-flops, they get half credit.”
Despite not allowing flip-flops in their respective classes, both Lo and Pedrin have no issue with students wearing flip-flops around school. Some students believe flip-flops are unsanitary, while others don’t see an issue with wearing them on campus.
“My opinion on people wearing flip-flops at school is that they shouldn’t,” sophomore Danika Nelson said. “The school floors are gross and we’re not in swim unit, the beach or at a pool.”
Sophomore Ella Torrecillas wears flip-flops to school every day.
“I mean the [floors are probably dirty],” Torrecillas said. “But my feet aren’t on the floor, they’re in my shoes.”
Experts have voiced concern over teenagers wearing flip-flops.
“People may not realize that even into your mid-teens, there’s new bone growth in your heel,” Cedar Grove Foot and Ankle Specialists said. “Flip-flops don’t cushion the heel, so repetitive stress from walking can inflame that heel bone growth area and cause pain and tenderness.”
Flip-flops are ever popular, and these criticisms don’t seem to stop students from wearing them on campus.
“[Flip-flops] are kind of just walk-around shoes,” Pedrin said. “You can’t really do any activity [in them].”
