ALICE, Texas — A 17-year-old high school senior said he was kicked off the cheer leading squad and suspended after he was caught kissing another male student on campus.
The student told KRIS-TV in Corpus Christi on Thursday that he was suspended after he was caught on a campus surveillance camera kissing the fellow student in the school’s band hall.
“They never check [school] cameras for anything unless something is stolen,” the student told KRIS-TV, asking that his identity not be revealed.
“I’m sure we were the only ones, sexual orientation-wise, being caught like that.”
The teen said public displays of affection are a common occurrence between heterosexual couples at Alice High School, and believes that the principal would not have targeted him had he been caught kissing a female student.
But the school district claims the kiss isn’t the reason for the suspension.
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In a written statement issued Friday, Principal Lucy Munoz said, “the district does not suspend students for kissing other students at school, regardless of the gender of the student.”
The statement did not list a specific reason for the student’s suspension, and only said “the matter is still under review by the District.”
Munoz, however, did write that the “Cheer Program Handbook requires students to adhere to a higher standard of conduct than that which applies to the general student population.”
The school’s handbook states that the school board “established policies and procedures to prohibit and promptly respond to inappropriate and offensive behaviors that are based on a person’s race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability, or any other basis prohibited by law,” but makes no reference to sexual orientation or gender identity.
The student’s family told KRIS-TV that if their son isn’t put back on the cheerleading squad, they will pursue further action.
