'Zero dating' policy issued for Year 5 students

By Maddison Leach|

Year five students at a US school were told they had to break off any relationships after the school implemented a 'zero dating policy' for the 10-year-olds.

Teachers at Riverside Elementary School first spoke to students about the new dating rules on Monday, informing them that any relationships needed to end by Wednesday, when the ban would officially begin.

It's a move that left many students devastated and parents baffled as to why the school was even getting involved with the kids' innocent dating lives.

Briana Bower was shocked when her son came home with the news. (WDRB)

"He came home really upset. He thought he was going to have to break up with his girlfriend and we're like Aiden, no, they can't do that," Briana Bower told WDRB.

Her son attends the school and had been dating another fifth grade student when teachers informed the pair their relationship had to end immediately, leaving the young boy heartbroken.

"You're telling my kid you have to break up with his girlfriend before you have my consent to even talk to him," Briana said.

In a letter sent home to parents on Wednesday, well after the students were told to break up, the school explained that they were implementing the "zero dating policy" in a bid to "combat students having broken hearts."

The email sent home to parents about the new policy. (WDRB)

However, Briana feels that it's a parent's role to discuss dating with their children, not the school's job to ban it outright.

"They're worried about the heartbreak but what about the anxiety that comes with that?" she said.

But some locals support the school's decision, saying that the children shouldn't be dating in the first place and the school is right to put its foot down.

"First of all, that shouldn't even be going on in school," said local resident Pam Smith.

"Sending a letter home is probably letting the parents know that there are some things going on at school that shouldn't be."

Pam Smith feels that students shouldn't be dating anyway. (WDRB)

The Greater Clark County School District and Riverside Elementary later wrote in a statement that the letter's wording had "misrepresented the intentions of the teachers."

"While the team of teachers were trying to protect students, the wording is what caused alarm," the statement read.

A district spokesperson later added that the policy would no longer be implemented and teachers would not be forcing students to end any relationships, however an email sent to parents advised them to encourage their kids to focus on school work and friendship.
