School rules battle skimpy prom dresses

INDIANAPOLIS, May 9 (UPI) -- High schools are adopting dress codes to combat the sexy clothing that America's teenagers favor as the prom season gets under way.

Officials at Carroll High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., said they will enforce the school's 2-year-old dress code, which forbids bare midriffs and requires backs on dresses, at its May 21 prom, the Indianapolis Star reported.

But that and other schools' efforts are at odds with fashion in which teens show plenty of skin.

"They start dressing like they're in a rock video rather than at the prom," said John Ellis, head of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. "In the last couple-three years, it's been an issue more for high schools than it has in the past."

The prom dress code at Roncalli High school in Indianapolis gets no more specific than requiring modesty.

"As soon as you identify (modesty), next year's fashions are outside the scope of your rules and regulations," Principal Chuck Weisenbach told the newspaper. "It's almost a chase."