This Teen Was Banned From Prom Because She Got Her Hair Done

Shatara Shorter, 16, was prohibited from attending her prom because she got her hair done. Prom was held on a school night, so Shatara left school early to make sure her hair and nails and makeup were done in time for the big event. Shatara, a student at Northeast High School Oakland Park, Fla, showed up at the prom with her date, Quaedae Robinson, and was met by a school attendant who asked for their IDs.

“They were basically waiting for me,” Shorter told Miami news station WPLG Local 10

Screenshot 20170522 085422The kids were informed that while Robinson was welcome to enter, Shatara could not because she had broken a school rule that reads,

“Students must attend half of the classes on the day of an activity in which they want to take part unless they have been excused or exempted from class by the school administration in advance.”

A spokesperson from the Broward County Public Schools district sent a statement to Yahoo Beauty that reads in part:

“The school’s students, teachers and staff worked extremely hard to make the prom a positive and memorable experience for all attending. During prom week, via multiple announcements, school administrators reminded students of the attendance requirement for participation in prom. The student and parent in this incident were reminded of this requirement prior to the student being signed out for the day. In addition, school administrators offered options to the family that would allow the student to meet this requirement by attending the latter half of the school day, which the family declined.”

Shatara’s mother, Shenika Dennis, tells a different story. Shenika Dennis says she was never informed about the rule. However, she did call the school the day before prom and told administration that her daughter would be leaving early. She also insists that her daughter wasn’t the only one who left school early that day but she was the only one punished for it.

Shatara’s mother spent $1,000 on her daughter’s prom look from her nails, brows, makeup, lashes, and dress. But the damage has already been done, Shatara’s mother is transferring her daughter to another school. The couple did not go to prom but drove to the beach and had dinner at a restaurant.

Screenshot 20170522 085359

Real talk? Everybody knows that styling a black girl’s hair can take hours and hours, and for kids these days, Prom is like a wedding ( check this post HERE if you don’t believe me). The school knows good and gosh darn well that they held the event on a Friday because it’s cheaper for them to do so as opposed to holding it on a Saturday. I’m all for following rules, but the rules should make sense. If this is a good student who isn’t one to normally miss school, why should she be penalized for this just because it’s a rule that makes no damn sense, especially since her mother notified the school ahead of time? Schools have GOT to be better about picking their battles

What say you? Unfair punishment to be turned away for leaving school early or Shatara and her mother should have followed school protocol to not be turned away.

If you like this post click HERE to read about another girl who was turned away from prom this year.

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6 Comments

  1. DELORES GRAY says:

    schools people are harsh with their rules I hope she sue I hate the nobody who try to enforce things for children bad. so you wanted to leave this kind of memory on a young girl you people sucks.

  2. Why did they have prom on a school day? Very poor planning by school administrators. Have they forgotten how important prom is to high schoolers?

  3. This is totally ridiculous! It’s the end of the school and I’m sure the kids are leaving early and coming late for any number of reasons, proms, class parties, programs, etc. Heck, I even checked my Kindergarten out after his graduation which administration pretty much encouraged. If students are in good standing, and not straight up skipping school, why not give them a break? Dang!

  4. If all the other students followed the rules, she should also. No exceptions. Don’t start life off with excuses for breaking rules. If the rule didn’t make sense, did she or her family try to change or address the rule prior to prom? Using this example “It makes no sense to stop at a red light if there are no cars coming, however, it is the rule and put in place for a reason. Try address the reason before the problem occurs. So the parents think the answer to this problem is to move to another school because if this one issue? Looks like there is more education this young lady and her family need to learn about life.

  5. She should be punished because that is the rule. Her momma didn’t know because her daughter didn’t inform you. She is a high school aged student. There has to be accountability for all actions. I am not against the rule, and I am sure there are lots of kids who followed the rules so they were permitted to go. In the real world there are rules in place for a reason there shouldn’t, kids have to start learning early about following the rules. She could have gotten her hair done Thursday night.. it ain’t like the hair is that intricate.. we have to stop excusing these kids that’s why we have the state of affairs we have today. Simple concept, follow the rules

  6. I find the rule kinda extreme. Perhaps ban kids with poor attendance, or disciplinary records. Or, if you insist on such a stupid rule, inform the mom when she called ahead about picking the kid up early. If the mom called to tell them, and they knew it was the day of prom, why wouldn’t they have said something then? That’s irresponsible on the school’s part.

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