‘Really unfair’: Students outraged after three schools in Durham Region cancel prom

Charlotte Leersnyder had heard stories about her parents’ prom since childhood, so she was looking forward to celebrating her own graduation. She even thought about the dream dress she would wear.

But she might not get that same chance to celebrate an important milestone after three Ontario high schools, including hers, decided to cancel proms at the end of the school year.

Students reacted to the news with anger.

“I had plans and everything for it,” Leersnyder said in an interview outside Brooklin High School in Whitby, Ont., on Tuesday afternoon.

“This is all I’ve been excited for. Grade 12 is hard with school and stuff, and prom is the highlight of the year, and it was just cancelled, and we didn’t get a say. No one spoke to us.”

The principals of Brooklin, Brock and Uxbridge high schools – all part of the Durham District School Board – sent a letter to parents on Friday saying they had decided to cancel the traditional event due to growing liabilities and risks connected to school-run proms.

“This does not mean that students’ friendships, accomplishments and milestones will go unrecognized,” the letter signed by all three principals reads.

“Instead, we will continue to focus on creating inclusive and meaningful year-end activities that bring students together in ways that prioritize safety, dignity and belonging.”

But Leersnyder said students want a prom, and they are sad about the idea of missing a rite of passage that other high schools offer their graduating students.

“It’s just hurtful and it’s upsetting,” she said. “So many other schools have gotten this opportunity, and we aren’t.”

Leersnyder and her friend Chloe Lepp were among more than 100 students who protested the decision in the school’s front yard on Monday.

Lepp said she first thought the cancellation was a joke, and the email informing students and parents about the prom cancellation ruined her weekend.

Proms were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic and Lepp’s older sibling was among the students who couldn’t participate.

“I know a lot of the students, when COVID happened, were upset about it. But there was an actual reason, like, COVID, a global pandemic was going on,” she said Tuesday.

“But like, this is just not really a good reason, or a good enough reason at least, to cancel prom.”

Durham District School Board said it supports the change but has asked the schools to sit down with students to hear their concerns and explore “meaningful alternatives.”

The school board also said the cost and liabilities associated with prom, which is an extracurricular activity, have “increased substantially.” It said the move is in line with trends across the province, as other schools rethink their approach to such events.

“The DDSB remains dedicated to ensuring that all graduates are honoured for their accomplishments in a manner that reflects both the pride of their school communities and the principles of dignity and respect,” it said in a statement.

In their letter, the three schools’ principals said some communities “may choose to organize their own celebrations outside of the school” and they are free to do so.

Students at Brooklin said there are talks of parents getting more involved and working together with a student committee to organize a prom.

“It’s unfortunate,” Gavin Murphy, another student at Brooklin, said of the situation.

“But you know, we’ve got to do our own thing now and we’ve got to plan our own prom, which I think is going to happen.”

Many students are devastated by the idea of not having any prom to look forward to, Murphy said, and are looking for further explanation from their principal.

Apsley Jones, another Grade 12 student at Brooklin, said she and her classmates are “crushed” at the thought of not being part of a tradition that they’ve watched movies about, and heard so many stories about from their parents.

“People are just saying this is really unfair.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2025.

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press