Rockford School Sparks Controversy with Their 21-Page Prom Dress Code

Can we take a trip down memory lane for a moment?

Think back to when you were in high school; what was the one thing you looked forward to the most, aside from graduation? Junior and senior prom, right?

You spend the first two years of your high school career putting it all together; you know who's going to be sharing your limo, where you'll be going for the elaborate after-prom party and you've already mentally asked at least two boys to be your date.

So, what's missing? Your dress. I remember prom dress shopping being one of the most memorable moments of high school. You and your mom, dad or girl friends would go to the mall and hit up Deb, 5-7-9, and even some bridal shops and try on dress after dress.

You'd laugh and giggle, even make some plans for what songs you plan on asking the DJ to play and before you know it, you've found your prom dress. There was never a question about if the neckline was too low, if you were showing too much leg or be worried that your belly button was showing.

Ah, yes, those were the days. It was so simple back then. Listen to me, I sound so old.

But it's true. I can only imagine how stressful it is for parents to help their daughters shop for a prom dress when according to the Rockford Register Star,  one Rockford school is going to start putting the smack down on revealing outfits at prom by enforcing very strict dress codes; some so strict that they require a 21-page Dance and Dress Policy rule book.  21 pages?

I can hear it now, the groans from retail sales men and women, the cries from heartbroken young ladies and the emptying of wallets after hard earned money is spend altering the one dress that your little girl is dying to have.

So why is this needed and what will school officials be looking for?

It depends on who you ask. The prom dress code debate seems to intensify every year; the lower the necklines plunge, the higher the slit up the leg goes and the more bare skin that shows in Hollywood, the same trends seem to apply to prom wear.

Regardless of what the school wants, how do you stand on the issue?

When I dropped my son off at school dances I've seen some of the dresses that girls in high school are wearing these days and I can honestly say that there is no way in hell I would let my daughter out of the house dressed the way these girls are. But that's my job as a parent, to tell my child "yes" or "no" to what they wear to a school dance. I don't feel it should be the school's call.

This is the one time a year that kids in high school get to dress up and have the time of their lives, there has to be a happy medium here. Would you agree?

I'd like to add that I'm probably in the minority on this issue. I understand that girls can't help the way they look, we all have to work with what god gave us; but the school was respectful in addressing women who have different body types. The harsh reality is that it isn't just about boys not being able to control themselves and having impure thoughts, it's about all students and parents. Anyone who wears clothes, of any kind, that don't suit them end up getting teased, tormented, body shamed, and bullied on social media. I see it and hear it everyday; especially in the gym where women wear close to much less than a prom dress. Let's think about that, instead of thinking that educators don't want teen girls to express themselves; they just want to protect them.