When Kaiser High School students attend their senior prom Saturday decked out in gowns, suits and tuxes, they’ll also have to wear protective masks, carry proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or negative test, and comply with a “no physical contact while dancing” rule.

Temperatures will be taken at the door of the Prince Waikiki hotel ballroom, and prom-goers with any symptoms will be sent home, says a contract all attendees were required to sign. Failure to comply with the rules “will result in dismissal of the event” and possible “additional consequences,” the contract says.

As Hawaii public schools mark the season for year-end proms and graduation ceremonies, many schools are imposing COVID-19 health and safety rules for these events that are stricter than rules for the regular school day and for most nonschool public events and venues.

And while many students, families and school officials support or accept efforts like Kaiser’s to prevent such landmark gatherings from becoming virus-spreading clusters, some question why some rules seem to exceed guidance from the state Department of Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at a time when infectious-disease experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci say they believe the U.S. has passed the full-blown stage of the pandemic, and the state has downshifted away from an emergency-response approach to general public health management.

Some also are confused by how restrictions can vary widely from one school and event to the next.

State schools interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a news conference Wednesday that the state’s 257 regular public schools and their events are subject to the COVID-19 guidance of the state departments of Health and Education but that principals have been given flexibility to determine rules for proms and graduations that meet the unique needs of their communities.

Hayashi also said that caution is still called for, as public schools last week had their fifth consecutive week of increases in infection counts since spring break, with 396 confirmed or probable cases for April 18-22. He reiterated the DOE rule requiring indoor masking to continue in the schools through at least the end of the school year, and added decisions are still being made on whether masking will be required for summer programs and next school year.

Gov. David Ige let Hawaii’s statewide indoor mask mandate for the general public expire March 25; Hawaii’s school system reportedly is the last in the country still requiring indoor masks.

Levana Lomma, CEO and president of For Our Rights, a local nonprofit and advocacy group that has held recent demonstrations against school masking, said in a statement that she believes there is “no scientific or logical reason to impose any type of restrictions on our graduates and their families, such as masking, social distancing and vaccine requirements.”

But State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble in the news conference said masking continues to be crucial in congregate settings such as schools. COVID-19-­related absences can disrupt in-person learning for large groups of students, she said. And even though severe illness and death from COVID-19 have been rare among children, she said, keiki are “very effective vectors,” often carrying the disease home to vulnerable family members.

For both Kaiser’s junior prom on April 15 and this weekend’s senior prom, the rules for vaccines, masking, social distancing and more were devised earlier in the school year, when virus cases were high, Principal Justin Mew said. While since that time cases have fallen and most government restrictions have relaxed, the school has opted to keep the original prom rules intact.

The school has asked the DJ to skip the romantic ballads so that there will be no close “slow dancing.” Only a few tables’ worth of prom-goers at a time will be allowed on the dance floor, to prevent a mob, and dancers will need to keep their masks on.

Mew said the rules were created to balance the desire of the students to hold their first live proms in two years against the increased risk of an indoor gathering of more than 360 students, including guests from other schools. Student leaders were actively involved in the creation of the rules, he said; they even calculated how many students should be allowed to dance while maintaining social distancing.

“We are committed to protecting our school community,” Mew told the Hono­lulu Star-Advertiser. “We don’t want to be the cause for having it spread into our community. The best (way) is to follow the mitigation guidance from the Department of Health and the Department of Education.”

Some families have complained, and one Kaiser parent this month tried to file a complaint with DOE’s Civil Rights Compliance Branch over the COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirement for Kaiser’s junior prom.

The vaccine/testing requirement was “not in accordance with the published COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidance … for the 2021-2022 school year, nor are they following CDC recommended guidelines,” wrote the parent, who asked that his name be withheld to protect his child from retaliation. “The state of Hawaii has dropped all vaccination and testing mandates and requirements within the state. Therefore (the) Leadership Team is clearly discriminating against anyone who is unvaccinated by identifying them and requiring them to test.”

A response from the Civil Rights Compliance Branch to the parent said it does not have jurisdiction “since vaccination status is not a protected class.”

Varying rules for graduation ceremonies across the state this year also have caused some conflict.

Initial bans on lei-giving at graduation ceremonies for Leilehua and Baldwin high schools were met with public outcry. The schools were trying to minimize contact in order to help prevent viral spread.

Both schools have since announced they are reconsidering. Leilehua says lei will be permitted at its May 20 commencement at the school stadium, but guests will be limited and graduates will be excused in waves to control crowding. Baldwin said in a statement about its May 20 ceremony at War Memorial Stadium that it was “looking at how we might be able to incorporate lei-giving while maintaining the safety of all participants.”

Graduates will be allowed to bring a pre-set number of household members as ceremony guests, with the limit determined by the school. And ceremonies must be held outdoors or in a venue with adequate ventilation, fans or filtration systems.

Of the 44 graduation ceremonies this year for the public schools, 24 will be held at campus facilities, such as school football fields and stadiums. The rest are set for off-campus venues such as the Aloha Stadium parking lot, Stan Sheriff Center, Blaisdell Center and Tom Moffatt Waikiki Shell.

While city facilities now have no requirements for masks or vaccines, “tenants may choose to impose stricter guidelines for their event,” said a statement from a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Enterprise Services, which operates the Blaisdell and Moffatt venues.

Mew said that for Kaiser’s graduation on May 20, he personally measured the dimensions of his school’s stadium and divided the space by the 265 graduates, allowing for social distancing. Each graduate will be issued seven tickets to give only to people who live in the same household with them. Lei-giving will be allowed, but only between household members.

The limits make some unhappy, he acknowledged, but he said safety has to be the priority. “We are doing our best,” Mew said. “I know it’s not easy.”