A Christian school in Georgia has forced a student to withdraw for bringing a transgender date to prom, just weeks before the senior was scheduled to graduate.

North Cobb Christian School in the Atlanta area recently held their prom off campus. But 10 days later, the principal called senior Emily Wright into their office.

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“It’s a wonderful thing to be in a place where you’re totally accepted for who you are,” said one 67-year-old prom-goer.

“I was asked, ‘Is there anything we should know about the guest you brought to prom?’ Emily told Fox 5 News. “And I knew exactly what they were talking about, so I said, ‘Yes, he’s transgender.”  

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Her mother Tricia continued: “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?’ I said yes. She said, ‘Well, I’m sorry, Ms. Wright.”

With that, Emily was forced to withdraw from the school.

The Wrights are still in shock. North Cobb Christian School won’t comment on the decision.

“It was off property. I did sign a form allowing her to bring a guest,” said Emily’s mom. The only limitation on the form was related to the guest’s age, she said.

Nothing in the school’s prom guidelines or the student code of conduct explicitly states LGBTQ+ individuals are not allowed to attend events, she told Atlanta News First.

“I feared this might happen,” said Tricia, but she thought the worst that could happen would be Emily’s removal from the dance.

“I cried very hard. I was just thinking that my entire future was in jeopardy,” Emily said. “‘Where am I going to go to school? Where am I going to graduate?'”

With just weeks left in the school year, Emily was forced to reenroll in a nearby public school so she could earn her diploma.

The decision to force Emily out was contrary to the school’s stated mission, her mother said, and not “kind”.

Among the school’s core values are “love for God, neighbor and self,” and “respect for people, property and ideas.”

“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,” she said.

The school’s principal and headmaster is Todd Clingman, a graduate of Liberty University, founded by anti-LGBTQ+ Christian conservative Jerry Falwell.

Clingman previously served as head of school at McKinney Christian Academy in McKinney, Texas, and as high school principal and acting administrator of Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas.

North Cobb Christian School was founded in 1983 as a conservative evangelical Christian alternative to Atlanta’s public school system. Students from eight underperforming public schools in Cobb County are eligible to receive state funding of up to $6,500 per year to attend private schools in the area, including North Cobb Christian School, Baptist News Global reports.

In a letter to Clingman addressing Emily’s forced withdrawal, her parents said the “decision is not reflective of the Christian values you claim to uphold,” adding they believe the school made a “discriminatory decision.”

“The school chose to kick out a senior student just four weeks before graduation simply because Emily was being inclusive and kind,” the letter said.

Contrary to the school’s beliefs, some Christians believe that the Bible has verses that encourage acceptance and kindness towards trans people.

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