Senator proposes legislation to save Father-Daughter Dances - ABC6 - Providence, RI and New Bedford, MA News, Weather

Senator proposes legislation to save Father-Daughter Dances

Dee DeQuattro

ddequattro@abc6.com

Senator Hanna Gallo has proposed legislation that would help Rhode Island school's preserve events like the "father-daughter dance."

The father daughter dance was canceled at Cranston Elementary Schools at the beginning of the year after the ACLU sent the school superintendent a letter on behalf of a parent upset about the gender specific event. The concern was raises that gender specific events at public schools violates a proponent of the state's anti-discrimination law.

The legislation provides that the school can hold events specifically for one gender as long as there is a similar event open to students of the opposite gender.

The school committee discussed the issue at the end of 2012 and determined to ask the city's lawmakers to address the issue when the General Assembly resumed session.

The bill was introduced in the Senate on Jan. 16 and has been referred to the Senate Education committee.

See the full bill here.