It's prom season, and the latest Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment public-health order, issued on April 15, specifically states that such events can take place this year despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Yet Littleton Public Schools has nixed proms for 2021 — a decision that's spawned a mix of reactions among parents, as well as an unsanctioned event scheduled for early May.
Diane Leiker, LPS's chief communications officer, stresses that the alterna-prom "is NOT a district or school-approved event," even as she defends the district's no-prom decision.
"There is a real disconnect between the CDPHE’s decision to allow counties to lift restrictions on large community and school gatherings while the CDPHE has told schools they must still follow the strict quarantine protocols through the end of the school year," Leiker maintains. "These quarantine protocols make it difficult for schools to host large indoor gatherings even though county health officials and CDPHE will allow them. Schools are caught in the middle."