The Travelin' Librarian

Photo: Pesky Library

This is something that’s got me totally riled. It’s a complex situation but I’ll boil it down to only the points necessary to understand the situation.

Student A’s Junior Prom is this weekend and it is being held at A’s school and is an official school event. A has invited Student B to the prom. B goes to a different school. A has a permission slip/agreement that says things like “I won’t cause trouble at the event”, “can be kicked out of the event for causing trouble” and other similar language. All of the rules mentioned are said to apply to both A and the guest, B. This permission slip/agreement has to be signed by A, A’s parent, B, B’s parent, and A’s principal. So far I’m totally o.k. with this. Everyone involved should sign and yes, the principal has the right to bar his own students and outsiders from an official school event.

But here’s the thing, the permission slip/agreement must also be signed by B’s school principal. In other words, the principal of school B has veto power over something that student B is doing on their own time and has nothing to do with the school that this second principal is responsible for!

Let’s take this out a step. If A wanted to invite someone from a school in another state (not unheard of) then the principal in the other state would have to sign the form. Why!? Student B’s principal doesn’t have to give permission for A to take B to a movie on a Saturday night, so why is this any different?

The bottom line: No principal should have the right to control what that student does, off school grounds and not on school time? That’s between the student and their parent. (Any attempts to set me straight are asked for and welcome but will be met with strong debate.)