Prom Season: Alabama School Suspends Two Female Students Who Planned Same-Sex Prom Proposal

It’s the prom season and a school in Alabama is having a hard time going with the times.

According to local site Alabama, two female students were suspended for arranging a prom proposal together. Two teens were suspended Wednesday according to Ashley Fadely, senior student at Alexandria High.

Fadely said that the event happened during a talent show. The proposal was arranged together with another female student. However, the girlfriend who was asked out during the event did not receive a suspension.

Fadely, who supports her two female peers, said the school officials treated the event as a “disruption” on school activity. The senior student recalled the event as a happy acknowledgement between the one who prompted the proposal and the girlfriend. There were no flashy celebrations that could be considered as a big “disruption” on school activities since the two did not say any words after the invitation and they simply hugged.

Alumnus Nicholas Wyville posted on Facebook to share his thoughts and pen a letter to the school administration. Wyville said a friend informed him that the suspended students will not be allowed to attend to the prom, even after they got humiliated when the principal cut them off saying the display could have “offended” other people in the school.

Wyville also reminded that school that it is a federal law to bar harassment of LGBTQ students in public high schools. At the same time, he said that if it were a male student who did the proposal, there wouldn’t be treated as a pariah.

“The 1st Amendment of the Constitution of the United States guaranteed their desire to attend, and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment protects their rights to enjoy equal treatment by school faculty and staff. If you would like more information on that, I recommend reading the court notes on Fricke v. Lynch here.”

Wyville is adamant in clearing the case for the two students and has already reached out to the “Alabama Human Rights Campaign, the Alabama ACLU, and multiple media outlets, both national and local.”

As for the school administration, Alabama, reported that the reason the teens were suspended was not because they were in the LGBTQ community, but because the proposal was perceived as “rebellious.”

“Students, parents, and the public may be assured that the Calhoun County Board of Education remains firmly committed to guaranteeing its students equal educational opportunities in all phases of school administration, including student discipline,” the statement said. “Our investigation to date confirms that school officials have fully honored that commitment in this instance.”

So far, an investigation is going on to see if the school violated any laws by suspended the students. There’s no confirmation as well on whether they will be allowed to attend prom or not.