Prom Problem: Evans High School requiring dress code contract for upcoming formal
ORLANDO, Fla. - Parents and students are frustrated because they say the options are limited. A dress like this has mesh. It wouldn’t work. This dress has a cutout. This dress has a plunging neckline. None of these would be acceptable.
"She showed me the contract and I told her I wasn’t signing because I was like why does there need to be a contract to go to a dance?’
Parents of students at Evans High School are scratching their heads after students came home with a dress code contract for the upcoming prom. It has only one rule for the boys: to wear a suit, tie and dress shoes.
But for the girls, there are many more restrictions, including no see-through material, like mesh, no cut-outs, no backless, no plunging necklines, and no short dresses. Parents and students argue for young women, that doesn’t leave much left.
"Everything that’s wrong on the list, that’s all the stores carry," said a parent, whose daughter attends Evans High School.
"I’m friend with a lot of them and hearing them complain, it just makes me feel bad for them," said Evans High School senior Zach Premilien.
The contract says if the student is dressed inappropriately, they’ll be asked to leave prom. They say students with concerns should get dress approval from the school administration before prom.
"What they’re doing is sexualizing these girls. That’s exactly what they’re doing. That’s all it is because you’re telling them they can’t wear things that are suggestive at the end of the day," said one parent.
Orange County Public Schools told FOX 35 this is not meant to sexualize students. In an email, the district said they’re looking into it. They weren’t sure if other high schools in the district were making the same demands.
Now parents and students say some seniors at Evans High are making alternative prom plans.
"Probably go to other proms at other schools depending on their dress code 05 if it’s a little better," said Premilien.
"My kid, her and her friends are thinking about not even going to prom for that simple fact alone. They’d rather just get cute and go to dinner," said one parent.
Prom at Evans High School is scheduled for April.
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