Category: Mississippi

Mississippi school settles prom dispute with lesbian teen

LGBTQ Nation • Tuesday, July 20, 2010 • Filed under: Mississippi • Comments (0)

McMillen

A Mississippi school district has agreed to pay a recent high school graduate $35,000 in damages and adopt a policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, according to a statement released Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Itawamba County School District officials agreed to have a judgment entered against them in the case of 18-year-old Constance McMillen, who sued her school for canceling the prom rather than let her attend with her girlfriend. The agreement ends a precedent-setting lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of McMillen, who suffered humiliation and harassment after parents, students and school officials executed a plan to put on a “decoy” prom for her while the rest of her classmates were at a private prom 30 miles away.

“I’m so glad this is all over. I won’t ever get my prom back, but it’s worth it if it changes things at my school,” said McMillen, who was harassed so badly by students blaming her for the prom cancellation that she had to transfer to another high school to finish her senior year.

“I hope this means that in the future students at my school will be treated fairly. I know there are students and teachers who want to start a gay-straight alliance club, and they should be able to do that without being treated like I was by the school.”

According to court documents, school officials agreed to implement a policy banning discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, the first policy to do so at a public school in the state of Mississippi.

The school also agreed to pay McMillen $35,000 in damages and pay for McMillen’s attorneys’ fees.

“We hope this judgment sends a message to schools that they cannot get away with discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. LGBT youth just want to be treated like their peers and do all the normal high school things, like going to the prom with the date they choose,” said Bear Atwood, Interim Legal Director at the ACLU of Mississippi.

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Celebrities to sponsor gay-friendly prom after lesbian student sent to ‘fake’ event

LGBTQ Nation • Saturday, April 10, 2010 • Filed under: Celebrities, Mississippi • Comments (2)

Former ‘N Sync member Lance Bass will join celebrity chef Cat Cora and members of Green Day are among those helping to pay for a gay-friendly prom in Mississippi after a lesbian teen was duped into attending a “fake prom” earlier this month.

According to the Advocate, the Tupelo, Miss. event, scheduled for May 8, is being organized by the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition and is open to all students, regardless of sexual orientation.

The prom is an annual event, but this year it has drawn national attention because of the case of Constance McMillen, a high school senior who challenged her school district’s rule banning same-sex dates at proms. Continue reading…

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Was Constance McMillen sent to a decoy prom while classmates partied elsewhere?

LGBTQ Nation • Tuesday, April 6, 2010 • Filed under: Mississippi • Comments (1)

Constance McMillen finally attended her senior prom Friday at a country club in Fulton, Mississippi.

McMillen

But to avoid McMillen bringing a female date to her prom, she was sent to a “fake prom” while the rest of her class partied at a secret location at an event organized by parents.

McMillen tells The Advocate that a parent-organized prom happened behind her back, and she and her date were sent to a different event that attracted only five other students.

“They had two proms and I was only invited to one of them,” McMillen says. “The one that I went to had seven people there, and everyone went to the other one I wasn’t invited to.”

McMillen said she knew there was another event in the works and she has seen several pictures from the party on Facebook. Continue reading…

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Judge rules lesbian teen’s rights violated, but fails to reinstate prom

LGBTQ Nation • Tuesday, March 23, 2010 • Filed under: Mississippi • Comments (1)

School officials in Mississippi violated a lesbian student’s constitutional rights by banning her from dressing in a tuxedo and taking her girlfriend to the school prom, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

McMillen

But the judge stopped short of forcing Itawamba Agricultural High School to reinstate the April 2 prom, which it canceled two weeks ago rather than allow Constance McMillen attend the attend the dance with her girlfriend, reports CNN.

In his 12-page order, U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled that McMillen’s First Amendment rights were violated when the school refused to allow her to attend her with a same-sex date.

“The record shows Constance has been openly gay since eighth grade and she intended to communicate a message by wearing a tuxedo and to express her identity through attending prom with a same-sex date,” Davidson wrote.

“The court finds this expression and communication of her viewpoint is the type of speech that falls squarely within the purview of the First Amendment.”

Continue reading…

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Ellen, website present lesbian teen with scholarship following prom flap (Video)

LGBTQ Nation • Friday, March 19, 2010 • Filed under: Advocacy, Education, Featured, Mississippi • Comments (0)

DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres presented a $30,000 scholarship on behalf of Tonic.com Friday to a teenage lesbian whose high school prom was canceled when she asked to attend with a girl.

Constance McMillen, 18, appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about her experience and at the end of the segment DeGeneres, who is a lesbian, presented her with the check to be used toward her college education.

“I admire you so much,” DeGeneres told the high school senior from Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, MS.

“When I was your age I never would have had the strength to do what you are doing.”

Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the school after the school district decided to cancel this year’s prom rather than allow McMillen attend the dance with her girlfriend. McMillen also had asked to wear a tuxedo to the prom, but was told by the school that girls must wear gowns.

DeGeneres said she had offered to pay for a private prom for McMillen and her classmates, but McMillen said she wanted the school district to hold the dance.

The scholarship came from funds raised on Tonic.com and through an anonymous donor, as well as the website’s founder.

Tonic also offered McMillen an internship, but no word yet whether McMillen has accepted the offer.

Here’s a clip from Friday’s Ellen broadcast:

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

ACLU backs lesbian student, sues Mississippi school over canceled prom

LGBTQ Nation • Thursday, March 11, 2010 • Filed under: Mississippi • Comments (0)

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Thursday against Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Miss., after the school district decided to cancel this year’s prom rather than let a lesbian student attend the dance with her girlfriend.

McMillen

At the center of the lawsuit is a memorandum from the school that was circulated to students on February 5, which stated that prom dates must be of the opposite sex.

School officials told Constance McMillen, 18, last month that she could not bring her sophomore girlfriend to the prom and also told her she could not wear a tuxedo, according to court documents.

When the ACLU got involved (PDF), pointing out the discrimination issue, the school district cited “distractions to the educational process” and canceled the prom for all students.

“All I wanted was the same chance to enjoy my prom night like any other student. But my school would rather hurt all the students than treat everyone fairly,” said the student, 18-year-old Constance McMillen, in an ACLU news release.

“This isn’t just about me and my rights anymore — now I’m fighting for the right of all the students at my school to have our prom.”

Continue reading…

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

School district cancels prom to prevent lesbian student from bring girlfriend

LGBTQ Nation • Wednesday, March 10, 2010 • Filed under: Mississippi • Comments (7)

McMillen
(Family photo via ACLU Mississippi)

A Mississippi high school has called off the annual senior prom after a lesbian student demanded she be allowed to bring her girlfriend.

The Itawamba County school board announced Wednesday it would cancel the Itawamba County Agricultural High School prom, after the ACLU demanded the district change its policy requiring only opposite-sex prom dates.

“Due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events, the Itawamba County School District has decided to not host a prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School this year,” school board members said in a statement released through the district’s attorney. “It is our hope that private citizens will organize an event for the juniors and seniors.

“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this causes anyone,” the message concluded.

School officials told Constance McMillen, 18, last month that she could not bring her sophomore girlfriend to the prom and also told her she could not wear a tuxedo. Continue reading…

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Lesbian student barred from wearing tuxedo in yearbook photo

LGBTQ Nation • Saturday, October 17, 2009 • Filed under: Around the Nation, Mississippi • Comments (0)

Ceara SturgisJACKSON, MS — An openly gay high school student in Mississippi is fighting with school officials for the right to wear a tuxedo in her upcoming yearbook portrait.

According to Ceara Sturgis, 17, an honor student, trumpet player and soccer goalie for Wesson Attendance Center, school officials have barred her from wearing a tuxedo in her 2009-10 yearbook photo.

Ceara said when she submitted her request, school officials balked, informing her it is “school tradition” for females to wear elaborate dresses or gowns and for males to wear the tuxedos.

Now, Sturgis is fighting back, along with her mother Veronica Rodriguez and the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi.

“I feel like I’m not important, that the school is dismissing who I am as a gay student and that they don’t even care about me,” Sturgis said in a statement. “All I want is to be able to be me, and to be included in the yearbook.”

The ACLU issued a demand letter to Principal Ronald Greet to publish a picture of Sturgis in a tuxedo. The civil rights organization said its giving the school until Oct. 23 to respond before pursuing court action.

More on the story from The Associated Press.

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

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