The American Civil Liberties Union filed legal papers today in federal court on behalf of lesbian high school student Constance McMillen regarding a cruel plan to put on a "decoy" prom for her while the rest of her classmates were at a private prom 30 miles away. The amended complaint alleges that the districts's violation of the free speech rights of McMillen, an 18-year-old high school senior who sued her school for canceling the prom rather than let her attend with her girlfriend, repeatedly caused McMillen to be humilated and harrassed.
On March 23, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi issued a preliminart ruling in McMillen's case that school officials violated McMillen's First Amendment rights when it canceled the high school prom rather than let McMcillen attend with her girlfrien and wear a tuxedo. The court stopped short of ordering Itawamba Agricultural High School (IAHS) to put the school prom back on the calendar relying on assurances that an alternative "private" prom being planned by parents would be open to all students, including McMillen.
