School Orders 5th Graders in Relationships to Break Up With Each Other

“It was right before recess,” Aiden said. “A lot of my friends went out and told their boyfriends and girlfriends that they had to break up, and that made them sad and I didn’t understand why.”

“It’s his best friend,” Bower said. “He talks to her every day, they hang out outside of school, they don’t hold hands, they don’t kiss. It’s innocent.”

But that’s not how Riverside feels about the issue, citing the “distractions” and “broken hearts” that it says result from young love.

The school has implemented a “zero dating” policy.

“We are truly just attempting to lessen the amount of broken hearts,” the letter, signed by three female teachers, reads.

Bower said the school should butt out of policing students’ relationship statuses. She said she won’t be signing the letter the Riverside sent home.

“I feel like it’s for the parent to decide and not the school,” she said. “Tell the parents to speak with their children about heartbreak and how to deal with these emotions instead of shunning relationships in general.”

And as for Aiden’s romantic life, she has made clear he can keep his girlfriend.

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“I told him he does not have to,” Bower said. “We’ve all had elementary-school relationships and we got through school and we’re fine.”