A grandson is upset after his school told him he could not take his grandmother to prom.
WTVF reported that Bryce Maine, from Alabama, wanted to bring his "Nanny" since she never attended prom in her youth.
"I asked my nanny to prom because she has never been to a prom before, so I figured why not let my last prom be with her?" he tells Yahoo Style. "I just wanted to give my nanny a moment that will last forever, and I believe that every woman deserves to go to prom some time in their life."
However, the principal objected because of worries older people might supply alcohol to students.
"Safety of students and staff is the first and most important of the many tasks of a school administrator," Steve Hawkins, principal of Eufaula City Schools, told WTVM.
“For the 10 years I have been high school principal, we have denied requests each year from students asking to bring older dates to prom. We do not chance leaving any stone unturned when it comes to safety. Most high schools have an age limit for prom attendees.”
Nanny already bought a dress, but that didn’t persuade the school board.
“My daughter and my grand-daughter, (my grandson) went, his girlfriend went,” Maine told WRTVM. “We all looked and found the perfect dress. I tried it on and everybody in the store was just thrilled because I was going to the prom with him. And we brought it home. And then come to find out, you know, I can't go.”
"They think if he takes nanny to prom then future students will do it as a joke and make the school a mockery," Sarah Catherine, Bryce's cousin, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
Now Bryce and Nanny are busting moves online with hashtag #LetNannyGoToProm.
The school issued the following statement:
The Eufaula High School Student Handbook states on page 44:
"The Junior-Senior Prom is a cherished event held in the spring of each year. Attendees must be under the age of twenty and/or should be enrolled at EHS. Non-EHS students who are planning to attend as dates must present a valid photo ID verifying their age prior to admittance. Students planning to bring a non-EHS student as a date must also inform the prom sponsor no later than two weeks prior to the event. Students who purchase tickets for dates who have not been previously approved to attend are subject to the forfeiture of the Non-Refundable prom ticket. Inappropriate attire, as deemed by the administration, which violates the decency and modesty clause of the ECS Code of Conduct will not be permitted."
Steve Hawkins, principal of Eufaula City Schools, stated, "Safety of students and staff is the first and most important of the many tasks of a school administrator. For the 10 years I have been high school principal, we have denied requests each year from students asking to bring older dates to prom. We do not chance leaving any stone unturned when it comes to safety. Most high schools have an age limit for prom attendees."
Other safety measures used by Eufaula City Schools include doing background checks on all school volunteers no matter their age and using a screening system called Raptor to check all school visitors for sex offender status.
No staff member at Eufaula City Schools has been contacted recently by a parent or guardian questioning the age limit for prom attendees. For the situation that has come to light on social media by an out-of-town cousin of a current Eufaula High School student, a call was made this morning to the father of the student to request a meeting. The father is unable to meet until Monday morning.
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