Lack of school ID keeps students out of prom
Senior prom is a climactic moment for most high school students, and for Ankeny Centennial student Luke Loney, Saturday evening was no exception.
Loney took pictures in his tuxedo before the dance and went out to dinner with a date and some friends. But when he got to the school building, he and his date were denied entry — along with other couples — because they provided driver’s licenses rather than student IDs for identification.
“We have girls crying with makeup down their faces because they weren’t getting into prom,” Loney said. “It felt like a power trip on their end.”
The students believed they would be allowed entry because of a chaperone guideline document that said both student IDs and driver’s licenses were valid forms for entry. He said he showed his $20 ticket and booster club ID.
Administrators at the school also greeted him by name before asking for his ID, he said.
But the school district says the chaperone document was outdated and wasn’t an official form of communication with students. The document was used for chaperones at other dances, but the rules changed for prom after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., said Samantha Kampman, spokesperson for Ankeny schools.
“Two months after 17 students were gunned down at school, it’s not uncommon for our administrators to create some safety protocols,” Kampman said.
She said Centennial changed the rule because the student ID more clearly shows the identity of the student.
Seven couples were denied entry into prom, but three couples were allowed in after their parents brought them their student IDs, Kampman said.
Parents were informed three times through email about the student ID requirement, and it was communicated daily on the intercoms, she said.
Loney said his parents weren’t able to bring him his ID, and most students are unable to hear the intercom in the mornings.
He said he would like an apology from the district.
Kampman said it is unfair to bend the rules for some students, while nearly 800 others were able to get in with their IDs.
“Our teachers and administrators truly care about our students being successful in life, and teaching them responsibility isn’t disservicing them.”