LOUISIANA: Lesbian High School Student Wins Battle To Wear Tuxedo To Her Prom

From the NCLR:

Today, Carroll High School Principal Patrick Taylor and Monroe City School Board President Bishop Rodney McFarland Sr. contacted Claudetteia Love, who is being represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), to inform her that she will be allowed to wear a tuxedo to her senior prom on April 24. Last week, Claudetteia, 17, was told by Principal Taylor that she would not be allowed to attend her prom if she wore a tuxedo. Geraldine Jackson, Claudetteia’s mother, met with Principal Taylor to discuss this further and was reportedly told that “girls wear dresses and boys wear tuxes, and that’s the way it is.” Principal Taylor also reportedly claimed that approximately half of the faculty scheduled to work at the prom would refuse to chaperone if Claudetteia were permitted to wear a tuxedo. Claudetteia and several of her friends originally planned on attending the prom together, but, because of the school’s refusal to allow Claudetteia to wear a tuxedo, have opted not go to the prom unless the school changes its discriminatory policy. The negative response against Principal Taylor’s decision was swift. Two members of the Monroe County Board of Education, which oversees Carroll High School, vowed to ensure that Claudetteia would be allowed to wear a tuxedo to her prom.

Love’s mother: “I am proud of Claudetteia for standing up for her right to wear a tuxedo to prom and for being true to herself.”