Canceled Prom Over Lesbian Date Gets New Offers

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - A Mississippi school board's decision to cancel a high school prom because a lesbian student wanted to attend with her girlfriend is generating support for a new prom elsewhere, USA Today reports .

An advocacy group for gay students tells the newspaper that it has received offers from around the country to hold a prom for students who attend Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Miss.

"We have so many people willing to donate money, resources, time," Matthew Sheffield of the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition told USA Today . "We are trying to figure out what we are going to do."

The county school board canceled the planned April 2 dance last Wednesday after a lesbian student – Constance McMillan, an 18-year-old senior – challenged the district's policy against same-sex dates.

Among the supporters of a new prom is New Orleans hotel owner Sean Cummings, who has offered to transport the students by bus to a prom he would host for free at one of his properties, USA Today reports .

The Mississippi chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, along with McMillen, have filed a suit in federal court alleging the school board has violated McMillen's First Amendment rights to freedom of expression. It seeks a reversal of the district's decision and reinstatement of the school's prom.

School district officials had not filed a response to the suit.

Congressman Jared Polis, D-Colo., says the incident in Mississippi underscores the need for legislation he introduced in January known as "The Student Anti-Discrimination Act." KDVR-TV in Denver reported that the bill would extend civil rights protections to students who are discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.