A student was dismissed from her Christian high school in Atlanta weeks before graduation for bringing a transgender friend to an off-campus prom. According to the student’s mother, there was nothing in prom’s rules or the school code of conduct to prohibit trans guests from attending.
Fox 5 Atlanta reports that Emily Wright was all set to graduate from North Cobb Christian School until she invited a transgender boy to prom. Now, administrators will not allow her to finish the semester—what the school refers to as a “forced withdrawal” rather than an expulsion—leaving her to scramble to transfer to another high school with mere weeks left before graduation.
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Emily’s mother, Tricia Wright, said that she personally signed the permission slip, and there were no rules excluding LGBTQ+ guests. “It was off property. I did sign a form allowing her to bring a guest,” she said, pointing out that the only restriction referred to the age of the guest.
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Ten days after prom, Emily was called into the principal’s office. “I was asked, ‘Is there anything we should know about the guest you brought to prom?’” she said. “And I knew exactly what they were talking about, so I said, ‘Yes, he’s transgender.'”
Afterwards, the principal contacted her mother to inform her of the school’s decision. Tricia had expected some trouble, but she thought that, at worst, Emily would get kicked out of prom. Instead, she was kicked out of school entirely.
“I got a call from the principal who said, ‘Ms. Wright, I’ve been informed that Emily brought a transgender guest to prom. Were you aware of that?’” Tricia recalled. “I said yes. She said, ‘Well, I’m sorry, Ms. Wright, we’re going to have to expel Emily.'”
“I cried very hard,” said Emily. “I was just thinking that my entire future was in jeopardy. ‘Where am I going to go to school? Where am I going to graduate?'”
Emily has since transferred to a public school, allowing her to finish her last few weeks and go to college. But before leaving, they gave the school a lesson on Christian values. “That’s not, in my opinion, a good example—to not be kind, not be loving, not be accepting, to be exclusive instead of inclusive,” said Tricia.
According to Atlanta News First, Emily’s parents sent a letter to the school, calling the decision “discriminatory” and “not reflective of the Christian values you claim to uphold.”
“The school chose to kick out a senior student just four weeks before graduation simply because Emily was being inclusive and kind,” the letter reportedly read.
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