In the spring of 2026, nine young adults in Biloxi, Mississippi walked a graduation stage for the first time. They had already earned their high school diplomas. But because of the Harrison County School District's dress code, they could not attend their official ceremonies while presenting as themselves. Local nonprofits organized a separate celebration, called Pride Graduation, so these students could finally have the moment they were denied.

Harrison County requires students to dress according to their "biological sex stated in the student's cumulative folder and permanent record." Every neighboring Gulf Coast school district, including Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs, Hancock County, Jackson County, Pass Christian, Long Beach, and Pascagoula-Gautier, has no such restriction.

Lana Brown, a transgender woman who graduated from Harrison Central High School in 2023, was told she could not wear a dress to her graduation ceremony. She chose not to attend. "Three years ago I was, too, ripped from my graduation," she said at Pride Graduation this year. "I was told that I could not walk across the stage unless I dressed like a boy."

Students who spoke to Mississippi Today described the policy as harmful to their mental health. Many said they do not feel safe and want to leave Mississippi because of it.

Superintendent William Bentz and the Harrison County School Board have the authority to change this today. No court order, no state mandate is required. The district is already out of step with every school system around it, and its current policy is pushing students out of the activities they earned the right to attend.

Sign to demand that Superintendent Bentz and the Harrison County School Board remove the gender-based dress code requirement and let every student participate in school life as themselves.