Student asked to perform ‘pornographic monologue’ in class, parents say. They’re suing

The parents of a 15-year-old Las Vegas high school student are suing the school district after they say their daughter was given an “obscene” assignment in class, according to Nevada court documents.

The student was asked to memorize, read and perform a “disgusting, pornographic monologue” for her classmates, according to the documents, which were filed on Dec. 29, 2022 and had asked for a temporary restraining order against school officials.

The monologue, which was written by another student in the class, according to The Hill, describes a woman coming out as lesbian to her ex-boyfriend and contains multiple expletives and references to sex, according to the restraining order application.

“I don’t love you. It’s not you, it’s just (looks down) your (expletive),” part of the monologue says . “I don’t like your (expletive) or any (expletive) in that case.”

The monologue goes on to say that the woman’s relationship with her roommate had become romantic and they’d started sleeping in the same bed.

“I’ve tried to look at it from all different perspectives, but the truth is, I’m a (expletive) lesbian,” it says. “I’ll never love you or any man, or any (expletive) (expletive). I hope you find a nice straight girl because that’s not me, and I’m tired of pretending that it is.”

The parents call the assignment a “disgusting, pornographic monologue”and say that their student’s First Amendment rights were violated when she was “forced” to perform it.

“Requiring a child to read, memorize, and act out pornography as part of a required class assignment is an extreme and outrageous act,” the court document says.

The student is not named in the case, but her parents, Candra and Terrell Evans, are named as plaintiffs.

The Clark County School District, where the student’s school, Las Vegas Academy for the Arts, is located, said in an email to McClatchy News that it does not comment on pending litigation. Attorneys for the defendants, who include the school’s principal and assistant principal, as well as the student’s teacher, did not respond to requests for comment.

The student’s mother first became aware of the assignment in April 2022, and she went to speak with school administrators, The Hill reported.

“[The administrator] empathized with them that he would be very upset if he found out that assignment had been given to his daughter,” The Hill reported, citing the lawsuit. “He told them that plaintiffs were handling the issue better than he would and that it would not be swept under the rug. He promised he would make sure that it never happened again. Further, he agreed that [the teacher] should have stopped [the teenager] as soon as she heard the first line of the monologue.”

Later in May 2022, Candra Evans appeared at a Clark County School Board meeting and read her daughter’s assignment aloud, according to video from 8 New NOW Las Vegas.

During her reading of the assignment, people in the audience started to “protest,” and board members cut her off, saying that she could not use “profanity,” News3LV reported.

The parents also told administrators that they could not meet with their child alone, but the principal “forced” the student to meet with her teacher alone, and during the meeting, the teacher “verbally attacked” the student and caused her to cry, the document says .

Candra Evans also said that administrators “blamed” her daughter for not “saying no” to the assignment, News3LV reported.

The parents are seeking damages of more than $50,000, according to The Hill.

In addition to the lawsuit, the parents asked for a temporary restraining order and a motion for preliminary injunction, which the court granted, according to court documents. They also requested that the principal, assistant principal and teacher be barred from meeting with the student or discussing the case in a way that would identify the student.

This story was originally published January 6, 2023 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Student asked to perform ‘pornographic monologue’ in class, parents say. They’re suing."