Does This School's Homecoming Dress Code Policy Go Overboard?

   By SheSpeaksTeam  Sep 25, 2017

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Shopping with your daughter for a fancy homecoming dress is supposed to be fun, but for many young women and parents at a Wisconsin school the process has become nothing but frustrating and demeaning. At Pewaukee High School in Wisconsin female students are required to submit a photo of themselves wearing their homecoming dress before they are allowed to purchase a ticket to the dance.

ABC News reports about some of the students and parents that are reacting to this high school’s dress code demands for homecoming and how they feel it singles out female students in a negative way. Since the school sent out the first memo announcing the new policy to parents and students, some have voiced their concern with the photo requirements.

In a memo, the school addresses parents and students that are uncomfortable with submitting a photo to staff before the dance. The latest policy speaks directly to those “uncomfortable with the submission of a photograph” and it states, “In these cases, we ask parents/guardians to email Mr. [Marty] Van Hulle [the principal] ... to indicate they have reviewed the dress guidelines and will assist us to ensure student attire is compliant. The student will then be able to purchase a ticket for the homecoming dance.”

Girls who attend the dance are not to wear anything with a spaghetti strap, strapless, backless, cutouts in any part of the dress and must not show cleavage. And though the school says their homecoming dress code applies to male students as well, they are not requiring boys to submit a photo in order to purchase a ticket.

Mom, Michelle Jenkins, knows firsthand how the school’s policy severely limits her daughter’s choices when shopping for a homecoming dress. Jenkins says, “It makes it really difficult to shop. To have a cutout in the midriff, on the sides or a cutout on the back, even if it does go up to the neck, is very popular.” McKayla, Michelle’s 17 year old daughter, agrees saying, “It took me a long time to find a dress that I knew would absolutely be approved. Overall, I believe that us as young adults should be able to make our own choices in choosing a dress without administration judging us and holding us against these strict policies.”

What do you think of this school’s policy of requiring female students to submit photos of themselves wearing a homecoming dress before purchasing tickets to the dance?

Do you think schools should strictly enforce dress codes at formal dances?