New Jersey Student Receives Dress Code Violation For THE PROM T-Shirt

A New Jersey middle schooler and her mother are fighting back after the student was punished for wearing a t-shirt from Broadway's The Prom to school.

According to the parent, the student was issued a dress code violation after wearing a souvenir shirt from the musical sporting the phrase, "We Are All Lesbians" to school.

The school's guidance counselor pointed to rules that prohibit "inappropriate language and hate speech" on school grounds as the reason for the violation. The school's principal explained the school's decision to the student's mother, Gwen Wu, stating that the shirt was "disruptive to the learning environment" and could potentially lead to the student becoming a target for harassment.

The mother is now countering on the grounds that "lesbian isn't inappropriate language nor hate speech nor is a demeaning message directed towards non-lesbians."

The student, who identifies as a lesbian, feels singled out from the experience, particularly since another student in the same school district wore the shirt and was commended for "wearing it in solidarity while at a LGBTQ presentation from Garden State Equality IN THE SCHOOL!"

On October 7, Wu spoke at the district's Board of Education meeting.

The hit musical The Prom tells the story of a gay student who is unceremoniously sidelined from a small-town Indiana prom. When some Broadway stars and and the press get involved, the teen and her most fabulous supporters take on the town to kick-ball-change the world and build a prom for everyone.

The musical, which closed on Broadway this summer, is set to hit Netflix in 2020 in an all-star film adaptation from Ryan Murphy.