Board Asked to Change Policy on DCHS Prom

Should DeKalb County High School students be allowed to bring dates to the prom who are not students at DCHS?
The issue was raised during Thursday night’s monthly school board meeting. Nathan Nabors was scheduled to have addressed the board but could not attend. Instead, Erin Casselberry, a senior at DCHS was permitted to speak on his behalf to make the request. “He asks that the board consider the possibility of juniors and seniors bringing a student from a neighboring county to the prom as their date. He feels that it will give the upper classmen an opportunity to experience their prom fully,” she said.
Board Chairman W.J. (Dub) Evins, III said it was too late to change the policy in time for this year’s prom, even if the board wished to do so because two separate readings are required for passage and that takes two months. But if the board should decide to change the policy to allow others from outside the county to attend the DCHS Prom, Evins said the board may also choose to require that the prom be held only in DeKalb County, which means either on campus or some other location locally. “When you have the prom out of town, it puts a great liability on the principal and everybody involved and responsible for this. We need to talk about bringing the prom back to DeKalb County where we would have better controls. Maybe we can look at it next year. The time restraints now are not going to allow us to do that,” said Evins.
The DeKalb County Board of Education policy states that “attendance (to the prom) is limited only to students of the sponsoring school (DCHS)”. According to the policy “events which enhance social development may be conducted by schools but must not interfere with the scholastic program in any school.”
“Student organizations may sponsor social events, which are planned under the guidance of club sponsors or school administrators, scheduled well in advance, and serve to complement the curricular program. Minimal admission fees may be charged to defray costs.”
“Social events scheduled for out-of-school hours shall be approved and administered by the principal. Activities scheduled outside of the system must be approved by the director of schools and/or the Board.”
Social events, all dances including annual school proms have board approval provided that adequate supervision is secured, and attendance is limited only to students of the sponsoring school”.
The board Thursday night gave consent for this year’s DCHS prom to be held off campus at the Capitol Theater in Lebanon on April 17 beginning at 8:00 p.m.