Pennsylvania Principal Cancels Halloween, Bans Costumes in School

Pennsylvania parents in the Pennridge School District located in Bucks County are slamming their local elementary school for canceling its annual Halloween parade over safety and inclusivity concerns.

Maria Pulli, Deibler Elementary Principal in the Pennridge School District, sent emails to families of all 400+ students this week saying the Halloween Parade, which dates back over 60 years, will not happen this year.

The Principal of the elementary school says it's a safety issue, however, many in the community disagree.

“The decision to forego a parade this year came out of concern for safety. As you may recall, my first day as principal of Deibler was on Halloween last year. While I was thrilled to see so many families, I was also extremely anxious with the sheer number of people on Deibler's campus all at one time. I take pride in maintaining a safe environment for all students and staff, so the idea of having hundreds of people on our campus all at once watching our students is disconcerting.”

In addition to safety, other issues in favor of cancelation include kids having anxiety over the tradition and parking lot congestion.

“We also have some students that for many reasons do not find enjoyment from the parade, which then creates anxiety and feelings of being unsafe. Furthermore, due to our location and parking limitations, the road becomes extremely congested.”

When it comes to safety concerns, many in the community proposed coming up with an alternate solution instead of totally canceling it.

Parents, students and former students have all reacted online say it's just not fair to the kids. They deserve the long-standing tradition of the school Halloween parade.

The Pennridge School District is a rural area where many children don't live in neighborhoods. This was a great way for the kids to get together with their friends, take photos, and parade around together and show everyone their costumes.

The principal proposed a new Fall event in exchange for the students on Halloween, however all costumes are prohibited and fall attire is suggested instead.

There are many other public events throughout the school year at Deibler that draw the same- if not more- amount of crowds. So far the school has not canceled any of the other events that draw the largest crowds including field day, concerts, and their annual dash fundraiser; all of which are open to the public.

The heartbroken community fears that these future events and celebrations will now suffer the same fate as the Halloween parade.