In March, a private school in Pennsylvania, Delone Catholic High School, implemented a rule making sure that students would dress appropriately for prom. Girls attending their prom on May 1st, must submit a photo of their dress to the school board to be pre-approved by faculty before being able to purchase tickets.

In an article about the recent situation, Fox News reported, “[Delone’s] plan states that gowns may not be extremely short, have an extremely low cut front or back, or be ‘inappropriately revealing.’ Girls who show up in un-approved attire would be turned away at the door.”

According to FoxNews, students and their parents are not happy about the policy change, since some had already spent hundreds of dollars on their dresses, which are now deemed “inappropriate.”

“The uproar was caused by the shortness of notice (six weeks before prom),” said senior at Delone Catholic, Harmony Redding.

Redding said, “The formal dress code rules have never been enforced for prom, as far back as 2004 graduates.”

The rules being enforced now and the requirement of approval of dresses makes it difficult for girls who have already purchased their dresses, some back in January, according to local dress shop owner, Simone Hostetter.

“By the time they submit the photo, and (the school) gets back to them, that dress is gone.” Hostetter told Fox News. In order to deal with the policy change, she has offered to exchange or modify customers’ dresses to please the school board.

According to ABC13, “The school said dress guidelines were issued at the beginning of the school year, and the only change to the policy is the photo submission.”

Delone’s principal, Dr. Maureen Thiec, told WGAL News that she understands it is a big expense and inconvenience to be turned away from the prom, and   the pre-approval process will ‘eliminate that difficulty.’ The policy implemented is to ‘uphold moral integrity and Catholic values.’”

However, a photo submission policy is not as unusual as national news implies. Nearby private school, Mt. Airy Christian Academy implements the same photo-submission policy and has done so since the beginning of the school year. The handbook guidelines include:

• Prior to the special event, guidelines will be emailed to the girls and their parents, along with pictures of examples.
• Dresses for Homecoming and the Gala and other special events must be pre-approved by the dress committee. Dates for the approval process will be emailed.
• Modesty will be the determining factor regarding dress approval. No cleavage can show while sitting or standing. If the neckline is high enough, no straps are required; a one-strap dress or halter-style dress is permissible as long as the neckline is high enough.
• Dresses and skirts should come to the top of the knee. Slits should not go higher than two inches above the knee.

Dianne Palmer is the mother of four children who all went through years of private school before transferring to the public school system. She described Mt. Airy Christian Academy’s dress code as “carried away” and “almost impossible to abide by.”

Palmer also said, “While dress codes do have some benefits, such as showing a sense of pride by representing your school, in order for a dress code to work I think you need to have an exact brand, color, and style, that everyone wears so that there isn’t  a problem with one student getting away with a skirt that another does not.”

LHS junior Ronni Brown is attending prom this year and is borrowing a dress from a friend that features cutouts on the sides and back. “I wouldn’t mind sending in a photo of my dress to be pre-approved because it would be better to know in advance instead of walking into prom and being kicked out.”

Other LHS senior girls have shared their dress styles for this year, which will feature lace, open backs, and cut out sides.

“It shouldn’t be up to the school to decide what we wear to prom. It should be up to our parents,” said senior Bethany Sorensen.

School counselor Paula Larson, who has been involved with high school proms for the past thirty one years of her career, said that,“We are currently in a good phase [with dress code policy at prom.]”

There is not a current dress code rule for prom, but Larson did have a word of advice for all girls who are currently prom shopping.

“Just because your friend looks good in it, doesn’t mean you need to try it, too. Dress for your body type.”