Mississippi School Cancels Prom Rather Then Let Lesbian Take Girlfriend

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3/10/10-by Paula Brooks
The Mississippi school district that had refused to allow a lesbian student to escort her girlfriend to a high school senior prom has decided not to host the prom at all after its decision was challenged by the ACLU.

In a statement issued late yesterday, Itawamba County school district officials said, “It is our hope that private citizens will organize an event for the juniors and seniors”. “However, at this time, we feel that it is in the best interest of the Itawamba County School District, after taking into consideration the education, safety and well being of our students.”

Constance McMillen had enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union after the district refused to let McMillen and her girlfriend arrive as a couple at the April 2 prom. At issue was a memo issued to the Itawamba County high school students that laid out the criteria for bringing a date to the prom, and one requirement was that the person must be of the opposite sex.

The ACLU and the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition gave the district until today to change its policies, saying McMillen had a constitutional right to have the same privileges as her fellow, straight students, and that the way she dresses falls under her right of free expression.

Instead, the school board met and issued a statement announcing it wouldn’t host the event at Itawamba County Agricultural High School, “due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events.”

Itawamba County is a rural area of about 23,000 people in north Mississippi near the Alabama state line. It borders Pontotoc County, Miss., where more than a decade ago school officials were sued in federal court over their practice of student-led intercom prayer and Bible classes.