Yesterday, Bedford-Stuyvesant Preparatory High School principal Darryl Rascoe vowed to hand out condoms on prom night because it would be "practical and it’s the right thing to do.” But on second thought, maybe it wouldn't be that right: in the wake of controversy, Roscoe has backed down on his plan. "I don't want to do anything against DOE policy," he told ABC.
As far as we understood, the DOE permits schools to distribute condoms to students (even though usually it happens in the nurse's office). DOE spokeswoman Margie Feinberg told the News that making condoms available at prom would not violate the agency’s rules, as long as kids’ parents signed release forms—or as ABC confusingly put it, "any student can go to the condom room and get free condoms."
So Roscoe backed down due to external pressure from parents and others it seems. It's just too bad since, as he put it, kids haven't been smart enough to protect themselves in the past: “There are several kids in our school who already have children,” said Rascoe. “We’re fooling ourselves if we think we can leave this up to teens to be proactive.”
