Nearly 2 months later, Miss. school district denies organizing ’sham’ prom for lesbian student

Miss. board denies staging ’sham’ prom for lesbian

JACKSON, Miss. — A rural Mississippi school district that was sued by a lesbian student who wanted to bring a same-sex date to the high school prom is denying accusations it routed her to a “sham prom” while most of her schoolmates partied elsewhere.

The Itawamba County School District addressed claims made by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Constance McMillen in papers filed Friday with the U.S. District Court in Aberdeen.

It’s been nearly two months since McMillen attended a prom at the Fulton Country Club that drew fewer than 10 other students from Itawamba Agricultural High School. Most of her classmates attended a separate event at a nearby community center, to which McMillen was not invited, and later posted prom pictures on Internet sites.