Prom-Goers Face Breath Tests

Prom couples arriving in taffeta and tuxes may not be allowed into the big dance this spring without passing the same breath test the police give to suspected drunken drivers.

The school board in this city of almost 300,000 people is scheduled to vote Feb. 6 on whether to subject all prom-goers to a breath or saliva test.

The idea came from a 22-member committee including parents, teachers, principals, police and students from the five high schools in this city 18 miles west of Dallas.

“We haven’t even heard of it occurring before anywhere else in the country,” said Debra Roth, spokeswoman for the 40,000-member National Association of Secondary School Principals in Reston, Va.

The permissible alcohol level has not been specified. Offenders would not be cited, even though the drinking age in Texas is 21.

Some high school students ridiculed the whole idea.

“Haven’t any of the people who make these rules ever gone to a prom?” Lamar High School student Trevor Hamilton said. “You don’t get drinks before the prom and go drunk. You get drinks after the prom is over. Silly adults.”

Another student, Susan Kaminski, said, “It will be embarrassing for us. We’re all dressed up for this big night and we have to breathe into this machine - how stupid.”