ABERDEEN — The lesbian teenager from Mississippi who challenged her school district”s ban of same-sex prom dates is seeking monetary damages, claiming she suffered from public humiliation.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen. The Itawamba County School District and school officials are named as defendants.
Constance McMillen, 18, is a senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Miss. In the lawsuit, her attorneys said McMillen has taken medical leave from classes and wants to transfer out of the school district.
She and the ACLU challenged her school district”s rule that banned same-sex prom dates and a stipulation that only male students be allowed to wear tuxedos to the event. In response, the school district canceled its April 2 prom and later announced parents would sponsor another dance. That dance was not sponsored by the school.
The ACLU believes the parent-sponsored dance that McMillen attended was a ruse because only seven students showed up. McMillen said the rest of her peers partied at another location.
“I really hoped that prom night would make all that I”ve been through worth it, then April 2 came and those hopes when out the window,” McMillen said in a statement issued by the ACLU. “All I ever wanted was to go to my high school prom with my classmates and my date, like anyone else, and instead I was the target of a mean, nasty joke.”
The lawsuit also contends harassment against McMillen since the prom incidents. The lawsuit doesn”t describe that alleged harassment in detail.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages to be determined at a trial for McMillen”s “public humiliation and disparagement,” as well as mental health, medical and educational impact she”s felt.
Itawamba County school board attorney Michele Floyd was not immediately available for comment.
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