Ah, prom season. Most people can’t help but get all nostalgic thinking about gowns, limo rides, dancing and.... cleavage?!
For a group of students at L.W. Higgins High School in Jefferson Parish, all they’ll remember about that fateful night is that they might not have put their best chests forward on Saturday.
A teacher denied admission to about 50 girls who she thought were wearing overly revealing gowns. Twenty-five of the girls altered their dresses and were let in; the other half missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Luckily, with age one learns that prom means very little in the grand scheme of things. It’s just a shame the affected students don’t realize this yet. If they did, it’d be a lot easier for them to get over how annoying some teachers can be.
Some of the parents are actually threatening to sue the public school system over the issue. They’d be wasting their time. In case after court case, a school system’s authority to govern appropriate dress trumps the judgment of parents.
Furthermore, Jefferson Parish’s student dress code prohibits clothing that exposes the student’s back, chest or midriff. That sounds vague to me, but school officials did say they publicized the rule in classrooms before the event.
They publicized it so well, in fact, that at least one student brought in a picture of her dress to an administrator and was given the OK. And, you guessed it, that same student was denied entrance into the prom.
According to the student dress code posted online for Tangipahoa Parish Schools, the written policy does not include a section on special event attire. If the regular daytime school uniform policy were to be followed, dresses themselves wouldn’t even be allowed. Should the school board have a separate special occasion school function dress code?
So it begs the question: Exactly what is appropriate to wear to prom these days? From the television news reports I saw, none of the Higgins girls were wearing anything out of the ordinary. Yes, some of the dresses were low-cut or strapless. But nowadays, that’s pretty much all the department stores sell at prom time. From the hype generated, I was sure I was going to see some kind of see-through stripperwear.
What constitutes a non-bared chest? Are we talking turtleneck, scoop neck, v-neck? It’s all very confusing. And maybe the most confusing of all is why a principal or other administrator wasn’t involved in the decision-making.
Jefferson Parish School officials now say the best bet is to bring the dress to school and model it for an administrator beforehand. If I had to go through all that, I’d be more happy doing my own thing on prom night.
The prom is just one night among 12 long years of uniform-wearing and dress code-abiding. To nitpick about necklines seems a little absurd.
Meanwhile, the parents of the Higgins girls are lobbying for at least one fair goal – the reimbursement of their children’s $100-a-couple prom tickets.
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12 comments:
I agree that the dresses were fine this dress code has just been taking to far what about all the money spent on the dresses & hair & shoes & jewerly just to wear for one night to only get told your dress is not up to dress code & how many teachers / are whoever it was that told the girls they couldnt come in agreed on this before they were told no ? was it the decesion of one person ?? & have school faculty & school board members been to town in 2007 ? compared to what i have seen people wearing i think theses girls dresses were fine & it was prom not a day at school & if they are gonna have such a strick dress code on prom its gonna get to the point where the kids & the parents are not gonna spend money on this stuff cause its a chance they cant get in anyway & a lot of people may not just have hundreds of dollars laying around to send there kids to prom & then to not get in on top of that ,well thats just not right & its unfair to our kids ! i could understand they need to make sure they dont show to much skin ,but give me a break ! the dresses were ok ! my daughter will be going to prom soon & i think her dress is fine & if i think its ok who is a teacher to say its not ? i mean i wouldnt want my daughter to exposed either , just remember there is to many bad things going on in this world at least let the kids enjoy there proms !!!!!!!
I find it amusing that the reporter pictured in a dress on the Daily Star's tag for this blog is likely in violation of the Jefferson Parish dress code. If challenged in court the Jefferson prom dress regulations would likely be found void for vagueness.
Hey just for the record, that ain't me! Haha. But it would probably not meet the dress code, you're right.
When I attended prom 3 years ago at Grace King High School, also in Jefferson Parish, the school set guidelines for what was appropriate. This was done in either December or January of our senior year and girls were encouraged to bring their dresses in to make sure that administrators thought it appropriate. The girls that were denied could have done the same thing if their dresses were too revealing and I do not think that the school should refund their money. It's up to the administration to determine what is and what is not appropriate and if the student thought that their dress could potentially be inappropriate, it is their responsibility to get everything checked out beforehand. When I went to my prom, I did not go to see girls cleavage and thought that the girls who were borderline inappropriate, looked trashy. If I wanted to see someone's chest, I'd check out a strip club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. There are certain rules that must be followed in a school setting and it's up to the parents to make sure that their children follow said rules.
I AM A PARENT OF 4 BOYS AND I THINK THE SCHOOLS WENT WAY OVERBOARD THIS TIME. EVERY PARENT OUT THERE WHOSE DAUGHTER WAS DENIED TO THE PROMNS SHOULD TAKE THESE STUPID SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS TO COURT AND SUE!!!!
I do not know about the prom denial situation, but I am rather shocked at the $100 prom ticket cost. Has so much changed in 10 years?
I AGREE ABOUT NOT SHOWING TO MUCH SKIN BUT COME ON NOTHIN WAS WRONG WITH THEM DRESSES !!!! MY DAUGHTER JUST WENT TO PROM & IM GLAD SHE GOT IN CAUSE I WOULD HAVE BEEN MAD AS HECK AFTER ALL WE WENT THREW FINDING HER A DRESS & ALL THE EXTRAS IT TAKES JUST GETTING READY FOR THAT NIGHT & IF I THOUGHT HER DRESS WAS APPROIATE TO GO TO PROM HOW IS IT SOME TEACHER OR SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER CAN SAY ITS NOT ?? SO IM HAPPY I DIDNT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT & HER DRESS LOOKED SIMILAR TO SOME DRESSES I SEEN THAT THE OTHER GIRLS WERE TURNED AWAY FAR AT THAT OTHER SCHOOL SO THAT KINDA SEEMS DOUBLE STANDARD IN MY OPINION ITS OK AT ONE SCHOOL BUT NOT ANOTHER ? I THINK ITS ALL JUST ACCORDING TO WHOS AT THE DOOR ON PROM NIGHT CAUSE I HEAR SOME OF THE GIRLS WHO WERE TURNED AWAY HAD ALREADY APPROVED THERE DRESS WITH SCHOOL STAFF SO WHY WAS THEY TURNED AWAY AT PROM IF ALL IT TAKES IS HAVING IT APPROVED BEFORE HAND CAUSE THAT SURE DIDNT WORK IN THERE CASES ! SO WHATS THE ANWSER ON HOW TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM SO IT WANT HAPPEN AGAIN ?
First off, this is the first time I ever heard of having to pay for entrance into the prom. Now your clothing is being judged and you are being denied entry by teachers who wore girdles and pettycoats to their prom night 30-40 years ago. The attending classes should pool their money together and rent their own building, that way you will have the right to deny entrance to anyone that doesn't fit in to your way of thinking. I agree some people will test the limits of what may or may not be appropriate, but let the class officers make that call. After all, it is their prom.
I must agree with having a dress code in place for the Prom as well as everyday attire while at school. One must learn the importance of dressing well. Your appearance is one of the most important attributes you will possess. It will help with and give you the that edge you might need in the future as an adult when interviewing for jobs. Remember dressing provocatively and sloppily is not the answer.
I am the parent of 3 teenage girls. The students AND their parents sign a formal-wear dress code contract the first week of school and no one attends a dance with out signing. I feel sorry for no one. Students know when they have crossed the line.
I am a mother and a grandmother. If the dresses on the internet are the actual dresses worn by the actual girls, I didn't think they were too revealing. Some were ugly, but not too revealing. A previous poster suggested pooling your money and having a private prom. Let me assure you, this does work! Denham Springs High School tried to make the Homecoming Dance a themed event, with attendees wearing 50's costumes. A group of parents rented a hall, sold tickets and had a private homecoming dance. I think the school dance was basically over by 10:00 PM, while the private party played on until 1:00 AM. The next year, the school delayed announcing the "theme" of the Homecoming Dance. Finally they decided the theme would be 2006 fashions or something like that. More students attended the school dance than the previous year, but the private dance drew the crowds. The school incurs expenses in advance of dances. Decorations are ordered, security staff are hired, tickets printed, etc. All in hopes of selling enough tickets to cover their costs. When they take a loss several years in a row, things are bound to change! And don't forget, election time eventually comes around again.
I am the father and I just want Jefferson parish and LW Higgins know that just because the school year is over this insdent is fare but over.I have a lawyer and any students that were denied intrence to this prom e-mail me at wmelerine@bellsouth.net
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