ACLU : Alabama school made unconstitutional decision with lesbian

by Susan Marie Kovalinsky | November 11, 2009 at 05:09 pm

190 views | 2 Recommendations | 0 comments

The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) is asking an Alabama School district to reverse a decision they claim is unconstitutional.

The Franklin County school system has decided that a lesbian student, Cynthia Stewart, a junior at Tharptown High School, cannot bring her girlfriend as her date at the prom.

The student turned to the ACLU for assistance after school officials denied her request for the prom which will take place on March 25, 2010.

"I can't believe my school is doing all of this just to keep me from bringing my girlfriend to the prom," said Stewart, a 17-year-old student who, as a member of the prom planning committee, has personally raised over $200 for the prom and created the theme her classmates chose for the dance. "All I want is to be able to be myself and go to my prom with the person I love, just like any other student wants to do."
Stewart's aunt and guardian, Kathy Baker, approached ACLU of Alabama board member and local attorney Henry F. Sherrod III last week for assistance after the school announced it was cancelling the prom. Baker had approached the school board to appeal the principal's earlier decision that Stewart could not bring her girlfriend to the dance, but her plea on behalf of her niece was turned down. Some teachers told classes last Thursday that prom was being canceled altogether as a way to avoid having to let Cynthia bring her date. Finally, at least one teacher made statements to students Monday indicating that the prom is back on, but there has still been no reversal on the decision that Stewart can’t bring her girlfriend to the event.

"It's just sad to see this school twisting itself in so many different directions to avoid its constitutional obligations to one student," said Sherrod. "Cynthia doesn't just deserve to be able to take her girlfriend with her to the prom like any other student – she has a federally-protected right to do so."

In today's letter to Franklin County School System officials, the ACLU cited cases both in Alabama state court as well as federal court guaranteeing students' First Amendment right to bring same-sex dates to school dances. In addition to illegally canceling the prom, the ACLU said that Tharptown High School's principal further violated Stewart's First Amendment rights by requiring her to remove a sticker she was wearing at school that read, "I'm a Lesbian." Stewart said that when she told the principal she had a First Amendment right to wear the sticker, he replied, "You don't have that much freedom of speech at school."