ACLU of North Carolina announced Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit in a North Carolina federal district court on behalf of 14-year old high school freshman Ariana Iacono and her mother challenging Clayton (NC) High School's refusal to grant Ariana an exemption from its dress code so she can wear a small nose stud for religious reasons. The complaint (full text) in Iacono v. Croom, (ED NC, filed 10/6/2010), asserts that the Iacono's are members of the Church of Body Modification. Ariana joined in August, while her mother had been a member for a year prior to that. The complaint alleges free exercise, equal protection and other violations stemming from the school's suspending of Ariana and sending her to an alternative school for violating the school dress code. (See prior related posting.)
UPDATE: Two days after the lawsuit was filed, a federal district judge issued a temporary restraining order permitting Ariana Iacono to return to classes at Clayton High School. (Apex (NC) Herald). A hearing on a preliminary injunction to permit Ariana to continue in classes is pending is scheduled for Nov. 2. (WRAL News). Here is the full text of the judge's order granting the TRO. The court concluded that plaintiff had shown a likelihood of success on the merits of her free exercise claim.
