Student Who Tweeted "N" Word Allowed to Attend Prom, Graduation

A weekend reversal of a Charleston County School Board decision will allow a School of the Arts senior to attend her senior prom and graduation.

The student was in trouble for sending a tweet about one of black classmates, saying if that student "makes one more got damn remark in Roger’s class tomorrow ... (expletive) will drop." The tweet linked to a photo of white girl with her eyes shut tight and crossing her fingers with a caption that reads "I wish a nigga would," the Post and Courier reports (subscription required).

Initially the student was suspended for five days, and district officials wanted to remove her from the School of the Arts and instead enroll her in the Twilight program, a computer-based program for students with behavior issues. The Constituent School Board overruled the District recommendation and allowed her to remain at the School of the Arts on strict probation, which prohibits participation in extracurricular activities.

Prom and graduation are both considered extracurricular activities by the District, and until Saturday it looked like the student woulb be barred from attending both. The student appealed to the full Charleston County School Board, which voted to uphold the Constituent Board's decision.

The head of the Constituent School Board, James Perry Jr., said his board never intended to bar the student from prom and graduation and County Board Vice Chairman Craig Ascue, decided Saturday to allow the student to attend both events after hearing from Constituent Board members.