No date = No prom for Pennsylvania girl

One teenager near Philadelphia is having a pretty bad week. Not only did her date for the junior prom cancel on her, but now her school is telling her she can’t attend the dance without him. 

When Amanda Dougherty’s date backed out, she decided to go it alone. And why not? She'd already spent around a thousand dollars on tickets, a dress, shoes, and flowers, not to mention all the planning she did with her friends. They'd even started a Facebook page to share their dress ideas. Her dad said she had been looking forward to the dance for years.

But for officials at Archbishop John Carroll High School, it's a no-go. In a statement to HLN affiliate KYW, school officials say, "The prom is an exciting event for students in all of our Archdiocesan high schools. We do have policies in place to regulate both the junior and senior prom. Unfortunately, not all students are able to attend. We can’t address specific issues with specific students but there are various reasons that a student would not be able to attend. Not having a date is one example. Our high schools offer numerous dances and events throughout the year where dates are not required, but we view the prom as a special social event where a date is required to attend."

Dougherty says the whole thing is "sickening" and feels like her value as a person is tied to whether she has a date or not. Her father is proud that she now plans to fight the rule to get the school to change its policy.