SPANISH FORK, Utah — Students and parents are demanding answers after girls were kicked out of a homecoming dance for allegedly violating the dress code.
The homecoming dance in question was hosted by American Leadership Academy, a charter school, in Spanish Fork on Saturday night.
Natalia Burton is a senior at the school and was voted homecoming queen. She said she was disgusted that dozens of her peers, including herself, were kicked out of the dance.
"It feels horrible because I know for a fact every girl that walked in there and all of us were so confident and felt so beautiful," explained Burton. "I don't know think I've ever felt more beautiful in my life."
Students said around 90 girls were kicked out of the dance for dress code violations.
Rich Morley, who serves as the Executive Director for the American Leadership Academy, said after reviewing over two hours of video footage, it looks like only 14 students were not permitted to enter due to dress code violations.
The camera was positioned where the ticket takers were, and although no audio is on the feed, Morley said they are able to see people checking for dress code violations.
Of the 14 students who were not permitted due to dress code, six of the students changed or altered their outfits and went back into the dance, a statement from the school on Thursday reported.
In addition, one student wore a jacket to make their outfit dress code compliant, the school stated, and once inside the student altered their outfit so it no longer followed the rules. That student was removed from the dance.
Burton, as well as other students and parents, said they felt the school was body-shaming girls whose dresses had similar styles but fit differently.
The dress code for dances at ALA state no cleavage can show, and the length must be no shorter than the student's fingertips, among other guidelines.
"Because of differing body types, the same dress may be acceptable on one person, but not on another," the dress code states.
"Please do not put school administrators in the difficult position of upholding school standards or let yourself or your date be embarrassed by being called out for violating our school’s dress code and asked to leave the dance," the dress code says in part.
Based on an investigation into the incident, no particular body type was targeted for dress code violations, the school stated.
"I believe the dress code is reasonable and fair," Morley said.
The school did acknowledge that several students felt hurt by the incident and "the school sincerely apologizes that any students came away from the dance feeling less than enough," a statement reads in part.
Morley explained that students who purchased a ticket for the dance had to read aloud a paragraph that outlined the dress code for the event and sign a paper acknowledging they understood the rules.
For couples who purchased a ticket, both parties had to acknowledge they understood the dress code, Morley said.
Isabella, who is also a student at the school, said she saw a girl get kicked out after she had gotten her dress approved by the administration.
"There was one girl that was even told because she brought a picture of her dress on the website and she said 'is it okay if I wear this?' and the school said 'yeah that's totally fine,'" Isabella said. "And then when she got to the dance they told her it didn't look the same on her as it did the model so she couldn't wear it."
"They specifically said 'your body is different from the model's body and you can't go into the dance,'" Burton added. "I know for a fact like I saw her eyes and she was so sad."
Isabella reflected that the policies that were enforced seemed unfair.
"That just seems unfair if one girl can wear a dress but then another girl that may be a bigger size or a smaller size can't wear the same dress because of the way it looks on them," she said.
Sam Lazenby helped plan the dance, she told FOX 13 News, but was kicked out because the school said she had too much cleavage showing.
"It felt demeaning," Lazenby said. "Personally I was told that even though my cleavage was not showing, because I am a bigger chested individual I could not go into the dance unless I had something underneath the dress."
Lazenby said she's not sure how students are supposed to feel welcome after a situation like what happened at the dance.
"It's coming from our administrators like it's people we're supposed to trust and we come to their school every day," Lazenby said. "We're supposed to feel welcome there."
Morley said the school feels bad some students got turned away and there was no intent to body shame attendees. He also said ALA has always had a dress code that they adhere to and expect their students to follow.
"[We] don't want to minimize concerns students have but we also want to ensure information is accurate," Morley said.
Morley said he's already talked to students and parents and has watched video footage from the dance to get accurate information.
In an updated statement Thursday, the school said they will do training for the individuals working the dance as dress code monitors.
"ALA officially and sincerely expresses regret that any student interpreted the enforcement of the dress code as an intent to body shame any of the students," a statement reads in part. "The purpose of the dress code is to promote a safe and healthy environment."
