School Bans Some Dates From Senior Prom (due to background check results)

My first reaction after reading this headline was the following:

"Are you f*ckin sh*ttin me?" This is ridiculous...

School Bans Some Dates From Senior Prom

Criminal background checks have sparked a senior prom controversy on Cape Cod after one school decided to run them on non-student dates.

NewsCenter 5's Kelley Tuthill reported that the state
Department of Education said the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School policy may have violated state law.

The move outraged many in the community and left about six students without dates.

Tonya Dockray, 18, and her family have already spent nearly $700 for Saturday's prom at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis.

"I bought a dress, purse, shawl so I don't get cold," she said.

As required, Dockray turned in a form to the school with information about her date, a 20-year-old she's been dating for three years. Last Thursday, her date was denied after failing a criminal background check.

"A couple of years ago, he was caught in possession of marijuana," Dockray said, adding he was not selling drugs. "He just had it on him."

This is the first year the school has done criminal offender record, or CORI, checks for non-student dates. Dockray's family said six applications were denied.

"Assault and battery, you know, violent crimes I understand. But this is extreme," said Dockray's mother, Angie.

The family said the school never told them that Dockray's date would be the subject of a background check.

"I think his rights were violated," Angie Dockray said. "In order to get a CORI, you have to give your approval. He never gave his approval."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said school districts are only supposed to CORI volunteers and employees.

Dockray is hopeful this story will have a happy ending.

"Every girl wants to go to the senior prom. Finding out you can't go with the person you want to is awful. I don't want to go alone," she said.

This is the first year the school district has administered the criminal records checks. In a statement released late Tuesday afternoon, the district said it's reviewing its policies to make sure none of them violate any state laws.