Lesbian Teen Banned from Prom Settles With School District
FULTON, Miss.—The Mississippi school district that barred one of its lesbian students from attending the prom has agreed to pay her $35,000. The district must also adopt an anti-discrimination policy, which covers discrimination based on sexual orientation.
In February, Constance McMillen requested that she be allowed to wear a tuxedo to the Itawamba County Agricultural High School event and bring a female date. That request was denied, and the school board cancelled the prom.
School officials then invited her to another prom that only McMillen and a few other students attended. According to Ms. Magazine, this was a decoy event that prevented her from attending another prom put on by parents.
In March, a senior U.S. District Judge ruled that the district had violated McMillen’s First Amendment rights.
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