Lesbian Teens Allowed to Appear as Couple at Pep Fest; Suit Is Settled a Day After Filing
Two lesbian teens in Minnesota will be allowed to walk together at their high school’s Snow Days Pep Fest as a result of a mediation session presided over by a federal judge.
Sarah Lindstrom and Desiree Shelton had been elected to the royalty court for the fest at Champlin Park High School and wanted to walk as a couple in the processional. They sued after the school district changed longstanding policy allowing students to walk as couples and decided that every student would be accompanied by an adult.
The suit was resolved on Saturday, less than 24 hours after it was filed, in a six-hour mediation session before U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson in St. Paul, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and a press release. The settlement allows each member of the royalty court to “select a meaningful person in their life” as an escort during the processional.
The teens were represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the law firm Faegre & Benson. The suit will be dismissed without admissions of fault.
