MS School District Agrees to Change Policy, Pay Damages to Lesbian Teen

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By SLJ Staff July 21, 2010
Mississippi's Itawamba County School District has agreed to pay $35,000 in damages to Constance McMillen, a gay high school senior who wanted to bring her girlfriend to the prom this year. The district has also made history by agreeing to implement a policy banning discrimination or harassment on the basis of "race, age, national origin, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender or religion," marking the first public school in the state to do so.

Constance McMillen, a gay high school senior who wanted to take her girlfriend to the prom, was awarded $35,000 in damages.

The agreement ends a precedent-setting lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of 18-year-old McMillen, who suffered humiliation and harassment after parents, students, and school officials planned fake prom for her while the rest of her classmates attended a private prom 30 miles away.

"I'm so glad this is all over," says McMillen, who faced such harassment by fellow students that she transferred to another high school to finish her senior year. "I won't ever get my prom back, but it's worth it if it changes things at my school. 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."

In addition to the $35,000, the school district will also pay for McMillen's attorneys' fees.

"Constance went through a great deal of harassment and humiliation simply for standing up for her rights, and she should be proud of what she has accomplished," says Christine Sun, senior counsel with the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project. "Thanks to her bravery, we now not only have a federal court precedent that can be used to protect the rights of students all over the country to bring the date they want to their proms, but we also have the first school anti-discrimination policy of its kind in Mississippi."

An earlier ruling in the case set another important precedent that will help prevent other students from experiencing what McMillen did. In March, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi issued a ruling that school officials violated McMillen's First Amendment rights when it canceled the prom rather than let her attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

"We're pleased that the school district agreed to be held liable for violating Constance's rights. Now Constance can move on with her life and Itawamba school officials can show the world that they have learned a lesson about equal treatment for all students," says Kristy Bennett, co-counsel on McMillen's case. "This has been about much more than just the prom all along - it's about all of our young people deserving to be treated fairly by the schools we trust to take care of them."

After school officials canceled the original prom, parents organized a private prom in which McMillen and her date would be welcome. That private prom also was canceled, allegedly because parents didn't want McMillen to attend. Parents then organized a "decoy" prom for McMillen and her date and a separate prom for the rest of the class.

McMillen supporters launched a Facebook group called "Let Constance Bring Her Girlfriend to the Prom."

McMillen and her date ended up attending an April 2 event the school had told her was "the prom for juniors and seniors." But only seven students showed up to that event. Principal Trae Wiygul and several school staff members chaperoned that event while most of McMillen's classmates were at another prom in Evergreen, MS.

"We hope this judgment sends a message to schools that they cannot get away with discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students," says Bear Atwood, interim legal director at the ACLU of Mississippi. "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. We're very proud of Constance for standing up not just for her rights but the rights of LGBT students everywhere."

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