In Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A northern Mississippi school district will not
be hosting a high school prom this spring after a lesbian student
sought to attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

The Itawamba County school district's board decided Wednesday to drop
the prom because of what it called recent distractions but without
specifically mentioning the girl's request, which was backed by the
American Civil Liberties Union.

The student, 18-year-old high school senior Constance McMillen, said
the cancellation was retaliation for her efforts to bring her
girlfriend, also a student, to the April 2 dance.

"A bunch of kids at school are really going to hate me for this, so in
a way it's really retaliation," McMillen told The Clarion-Ledger of
Jackson. Calls to McMillen by The Associated Press late Wednesday went
unanswered.

School policy requires that senior prom dates be of the opposite sex.
The ACLU of Mississippi had given the district until Wednesday to
change that policy, arguing that banning same-sex prom dates violated
McMillen's constitutional rights.

Instead, the school board met and issued a statement announcing it
wouldn't host the event at Itawamba County Agricultural High School in
Fulton, "due to the distractions to the educational process caused by
recent events."

The statement didn't mention McMillen or the ACLU. When asked by The
Associated Press if McMillen's demand led to the cancellation, school
board attorney Michele Floyd said she could only reference the
statement.

"It is our hope that private citizens will organize an event for the
juniors and seniors," district officials said in the statement.
"However, at this time, we feel that it is in the best interest of the
Itawamba County School District, after taking into consideration the
education, safety and well being of our students."

Kristy Bennett, legal director for the ACLU of Mississippi, said the
district was trying to avoid the issue.

"But that doesn't take away their legal obligations to treat all the
students fairly," Bennett said. "On Constance's behalf, this is unfair
to her. All she's trying to do is assert her rights."

Itawamba County is a rural area of about 23,000 people in north
Mississippi near the Alabama state line. It borders Pontotoc County,
Miss., where more than a decade ago school officials were sued in
federal court over their practice of student-led intercom prayer and
Bible classes.