A Mississippi high school won’t admit it’s the reason, but it appears that it canceled its senior prom set for April 2nd over the request of a lesbian wishing to attend.

Back in Feb., Itawamba Agricultural High School (site is down at the time of this writing) sent out a memo to students (PDF link) in regards to the impending prom to be held on April 2nd.  In the memo it stated that dates must be of the opposite sex, and that girls were to only wear dresses.

Enter Constance McMillen.

Ms. McMillen is an 18-year-old senior at the school who identifies as lesbian, and is currently dating a sophomore girl at the school.  She had petitioned the school to allow her to attend with her girlfriend and that she be allowed to wear a tuxedo.  According to an audio interview with KGO AM 810, she was informed that the policy was put in place because it was cheaper for best friends to buy tickets as a couple than as singles.  She told them that it discriminated against her and her girlfriend from attending, but the school informed her that they feared the couple would make other students feel uncomfortable if they were there.

At this point McMillen went up the chain-of-command through the vice-principal, principal and school board to get permission before she called the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The ACLU routinely handles cases of homosexual discrimination at proms, fielding as many as five to ten such cases each school year.  The ACLU contacted the school and told them they would be filing a lawsuit if the bans were not lifted as both were unconstitutional under freedom of speech.

The Itawamba School District decided the more prudent course of action was to cancel the prom all together.  In a statement released to the press (PDF link), the school district said, “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.”  Neither McMillen nor the ACLU are mentioned in the press release as reasons for the cancellation.  The statement went on to state, “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.”

As is to be expected, Ms. McMillen is now having problems at school with her fellow students.  Some people she used to be friendly with are now avoiding her, and according to the Associated Press, one girl went so far as to say to her, “Thanks for ruining my senior year.”

On the subject of the suggestion of a private prom, due to the private nature of the event no one will be able to force them to admit Ms. McMillen and her date.  While there has certainly been no comment that this may be a end run around the ACLU issue, many people are comment that is how it is coming across.

The ACLU has now filed a suit against the school district saying that the school has indeed violated Ms. McMillen’s freedom of expression, and it is also seeking an injunction that will force the school to host the prom as originally scheduled and allow Ms. McMillen to attend with her date and in the attire of her choice.

I have to ponder what is going on with our schools again.  As if the Lower Merion School District potentially violating the rights of its students with the webcam spying situation, no matter how you may feel about Ms. McMillen’s particular situation, a publicly funded school saying in an official memo that same-sex couples could not attend an official school function is beyond the pale in the United States.  At no time are publicly funded schools supposed to discriminate against its students in any form.  If they were truly trying to stop friends from getting a discounted rate, that is one thing, but the second Ms. McMillen stepped forward and asked about her situation, they should have said, “Oops, our bad, sorry” and repealed it, but to know of the situation and then ignore it?  Then, yes, you discriminated and did indeed violate the law.  Enjoy your lawsuit.