Harrisburg school administrator rips up discipline referral for student suspended over prom dress

HARRISBURG- Alexus Miller-Wigfall went to school Thursday uncertain whether she would have to serve in-school suspension for wearing a prom dress Saturday that was considered "too revealing."

She was told about the suspension Tuesday and given a written referral on Wednesday even though a school counselor told her mother in a phone call that the suspension had been overturned.

On Thursday, Alexus asked school officials about the referral, which set her suspension day for Friday. A school administrator ripped up the referral in front of Alexus, said Alisha Sneed, Alexus' mother.

Alexus told her mother about the encounter, but school officials have not contacted Sneed to confirm the reversal or provide an explanation of why her daughter was suspended in the first place.

School District officials declined PennLive's requests for confirmation of the reversal, citing privacy concerns. A spokeswoman on Thursday declined to answer any questions, including generic procedural questions, saying the district would have no comment on the matter.

Sneed has been trying to get answers from school officials since she found out her daughter had been suspended because of her prom dress, which allegedly revealed too much cleavage. Sneed believes the school targeted her daughter because her daughter is "plus-sized."

Other students wore dresses more revealing but were not punished, Sneed said.

See more photos from the Harrisburg prom

Kirsten Keys, a school district spokeswoman, told PennLive Wednesday that Alexus was the only student suspended for prom attire from the Sci Tech campus of Harrisburg High School. Sci Tech and the main campus host a shared prom.

Several other girls at the prom were asked to wear shawls to cover revealing dresses, Keys said. But Alexus said no one approached her about her dress at the prom except for Superintendent Knight Burney, who reportedly complimented her dress.

Keys on Wednesday said she was going to ask for suspension figures from the principal at the main campus, but then Keys refused to provide the information or answers to other questions.

PennLive had asked the district to provide: the suspension figures, the dress approval process and associated deadlines, a response to the mother's complaints about the school's alleged lack of communication and the district's stance on the prom dress controversy.

Keys wrote back eight hours after the questions were first posed with a copy of the prom attire guidelines, which did not mention how dresses are approved in advance. She also sent this statement, which was approved by Knight-Burney:

photo:prom dresses online

Harrisburg High School's prom: 10 favorite looks

A look at 10 fabulous outfits at the 2015 Harrisburg High School prom."The Harrisburg School District believes that proms are celebratory and memorable events in the lives of its students. Our administration, school board, faculty and advisors strive to ensure that students enjoy themselves immensely, while abiding by attire guidelines and expectations that support and promote the elegance of the prom season."

PennLive readers who commented on the story overwhelming supported Alexus, saying her dress was classy and appropriate.

A commenter who said she was the mother of a Sci Tech student wrote on PennLive that she was not surprised by the incident.

"My daughter experienced a similar situation with SciTech over a skirt that many girls wore to school but for some reason my daughter was dressed inappropriately. The rules in Harrisburg School District only apply to certain students. There is nothing wrong with how this young lady is dressed."

A few commenters wrote that the girl and her mother waited too long to have the dress approved and should have had modifications to the dress approved well in advance.

Sneed said she and her daughter had jumped through several hoops already, trying to get the dress approved. She added that school officials would not call her back last week.

Another commenter wrote: "Harrisburg High has way bigger problems to worry about than that dress, which looks to be one of the more conservative ones actually."

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