Florida student sues after being left out of yearbook

By The Associated Press

06.23.02

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TAMPA, Fla. — A teenager whose rejection of a dress code kept her portrait out of her high school yearbook has sued the school district in federal court.

Nikki Youngblood’s June 19 lawsuit accuses Robinson High and Hillsborough County school leaders of discrimination as well as violation of her rights to free expression and equal protection under the law.

School administrators refused to let her wear unisex or male clothing in her yearbook portrait, insisting that she wear a "scoop neck drape" as did other girls, according to the lawsuit. Youngblood, 17, opted to not comply and her photo was not taken.

Youngblood is represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

It's the second time in a month the school district has drawn a legal challenge from a national gay-rights organization. Last month, administrators backed down from a requirement that girls wear skirts or dresses under their graduation gowns at Bloomingdale High School.

"I don't understand why this is such a big deal to them," Youngblood said. "This is how I dressed in school every day. I even wore a tuxedo to a school dance. This is 2002, not 1802. No female student should be deprived of the right to be in the yearbook because she does not want to wear a frilly drape."

School District spokesman Mark Hart said Youngblood was offered free space in the yearbook to run her picture dressed as she liked, but refused that option. Hart said the school principal and the yearbook staff wanted a standard for senior portraits. The school has a First Amendment right to decide what is published in the yearbook, he said.

"I think we have tried to deal in good faith," Hart said.

Youngblood’s attorney, Karen Doering, offered a different version of events, saying school administrators told the girl she could pay hundreds of dollars to run her photo among the advertisements in the back of the book.

"Nikki is not a rebellious kid trying to destroy the sanctity of the school yearbook," said Doering. "She simply wanted to appear in her yearbook as herself, not a fluffed-up stereotype of what school administrators thought she should look like."

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