Lesbian prom flap: School district must pay

Judge awards legal fees to Constance McMillen in case of dance canceled to keep her from bringing her girlfriend

Published October 26, 2010 5:37PM (EDT)

A federal judge has ordered a Mississippi school district to pay about $81,000 in legal fees and expenses in a lawsuit filed by a lesbian student whose prom was canceled because she wanted to bring her girlfriend.

U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson signed the order on Monday.

Constance McMillen and the American Civil Liberties Union had sued the Itawamba County School District in a challenge of the ban on same-sex prom dates.

In response, the school canceled its April 2 prom. Parents sponsored another dance, but McMillen claimed she was tricked into going to a "sham prom" while other students partied elsewhere. Amid the uproar, she finished her senior year at another high school.

Davidson ruled in March that McMillen's rights were violated.


By Associated Press

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