SIKESTON, Mo. (KSDK) - A southern Missouri law firm is threatening legal action against a school district if it does not end its policy preventing a male high school student from attending prom with his boyfriend.
The Southern Poverty Law Center is threatening to sue Scott County Central High School and the school district because Stacy Dawson, a junior at the school, was told he's not allowed to bring his boyfriend to the school dance on April 20.
The school district's policy states same-sex couples are not allowed to attend school dances together. It states, "High school students will be permitted to invite one guest, girls invite boys, and boys invite girls."
Dawson asked for approval to bring his boyfriend, but was told by an administrator the school board would not change the policy.
"Prom is an important milestone in high school, and I would be devastated if I'm not allowed to attend prom with my boyfriend," Dawson said. "It isn't fair that a school can randomly disregard students' rights because it doesn't agree with who you want to take to prom."
The law firm says the district has until February 25 to change the policy or it will seek legal action on Dawson's behalf.
"Denying Stacy's right to bring his boyfriend to prom is blatantly discriminatory and in violation of his constitutional rights," said Alesdair Ittelson, staff attorney for the SPLC. "This unlawful policy reminds us that anti-gay sentiment still serves as a platform for schools to deny the rights of same-sex couples. We call upon the school district to end this unconstitutional policy and recognize Stacy's rights without further delay."
A letter from SPLC to the school district cites several court cases in which the court sided with students in similar positions.
NewsChannel 5 reached out to Superintendent Alvin McFerren, who said this is a student matter that falls under federal and state confidentiality laws and he cannot make a public comment at this time.
