A Sydney Catholic school who declared students would be banned from attending their school ball with a same-sex partner have backed down and reversed their decision.
The two students have launched a petition asking for the Catholic school to change their stance and it gathered close to 5,000 signatories before it was closed. Abbie Franklin and her girlfriend will now be permitted to attend the event.
“In a recent turn of events, St. Ursula’s School in Kingsgrove, NSW, has revised its policy regarding the attendance of same-sex couples at the school formal,” petition host Change.org said.
Franklin shared her happiness about the new ruling.
“We hope that our story can inspire others to challenge discriminatory policies and practices wherever they exist,” she wrote on Change.org.
The school’s decision was widely criticised by politicians with Education Minister Jason Clare urging the school to use “common Sense” and even One Nation leader Pauline Hanson saying the school needed to move with the times.
“I don’t think any of us think that we should be discriminating against children at our schools on the basis of their sexuality or anything else.” Jason Clare said.
OIP Staff
You can support our work by subscribing to our Patreon
or contributing to our GoFundMe campaign.