

Mariel West pins a boutonniere on the jacket of her boyfriend, John Felczak, as they prepare for the senior prom at Notre Dame High School in Hamtramck, Michigan, in 2005. Jim West/ZUMA Press/Newscom/File
An unidentified couple dances at their prom at the Thomas J. Pappas School in Phoenix in 2002. The Pappas School is a K-12 school for homeless children throughout the Phoenix metro area. The prom was sponsored completely by donations from area businesses. Matt York/AP/File
Prom Queen Dottie Kehoe dances with her Prom King, Arthur Alfonso, in Brandon, Fla., in 2002. Zuma Press/Newscom/File
Technology High School seniors Victoria Theodille, Danielle Harrison, and Dani Grubbs model the prom gowns they got for free from Catherine's Closet. More than 200 low income high school girls showed up to choose between 1,000 donated dresses in Newark, N.J., in 2002. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff/File
Bryan Meganek (l.) watches the Pistons game against the New Jersey Nets with Laura Herrick during the Berkley High School prom in Troy, Mich., in 2004. David P. Gilkey/Newscom/File
Blake Luttrell escorts Jennifer Crowley through the crowd at the 2011 Auburn High School prom in Springfield, Ill., on April 9. Ms. Crowley, who has Down syndrome, never had been to a high school dance before, let alone a prom. The senior was crowned as prom queen by the student body. Ted Schurter/The State Journal-Register/AP
Taylor County High School seniors Jackie Nash (l.) and Marlon Snipes dance together during the school's first integrated prom at the Four Points Sheraton in Columbus, Ga., in 2002. G. Marc Benavidez/Newscom/File
Daniel Castillo and Rita Reyes try to talk on the dance floor during her prom at the Hanford Auditorium in Hanford, Calif., in 2003. Renee Knoeber/The Fresno Bee/Newscom/File
Students arrive at a prom in Laguna Niguel, Calif., in 2002. A 'No Freaking' sign is posted to insure that there will be no inappropriate dancing. Spencer Grant/Zuma Press/Newscom/File
Fatima Haque is student body president at San Jose High School in California. Ms. Haque is from Pakistan and follows the Muslim religion strictly. Her parents allowed her to go to the school prom, but without a date. Here she shops for a prom dress in 2003. Karent T. Borchers/San Jose Mercury News/Newscom/File
Jacqueline Duty, holding her Confederate flag-themed prom dress, speaks to the media outside the Federal Courthouse in Lexington, Ky., in 2004. Ms. Duty filed a federal lawsuit against the Russell Independent Board of Education after she was not allowed to attend her senior prom in Russell, Ky., in the dress. Pablo Alcala/Lexington Herald-Leader/Newscom/File
Gay student Marc Hall (l.) went to court for the right to take his boyfriend to the prom at the Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic Secondary School prom in Toronto in 2002. Tony Bock/Toronto Star/Zuma Press/Newscom/File