Constance McMillen The American teenager who hit the headlines all over the world when she took her school district to court over a cancelled prom has been awarded nearly $50,000 (US$35,000) in damages in a precedent-setting case. Eighteen-year-old Constance McMillen and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the school board in Fulton, Mississippi, after officials cancelled the Itawamba Agricultural High School prom, rather than allow her to attend with her girlfriend and wearing a tuxedo. A federal judge made an initial ruling that the school district had violated McMillen's free speech rights. She was then invited to a 'decoy prom' which only a few students attended, while the rest of their peers held a secret prom. The ACLU continued with the lawsuit and the school district has now agreed to have judgement entered against it, which the ACLU says is more than just a settlement, as the it is now held liable for violating McMillen's rights. The school has agreed to pay the teenager's legal fees and agreed to implement a policy banning discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, the first such policy a public school in the state of Mississippi. McMillen says she is glad it's over. "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," she says. Senior counsel with the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project Christine P. Sun says McMillen went through a great deal of harassment and humiliation simply for standing up for her rights, and should be proud of what she has accomplished. "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."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 21st July 2010 - 11:01am