The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the Johnston County school board and other school officials for suspending a 14-year-old high school student because of her nose piercing.
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The lawsuit seeks a court order allowing Ariana Iacono to return to Clayton High School immediately. Iacono has been suspended from Clayton High School four times since classes began last month. She has missed 19 days.
Iacono and her mother, Nikki Iacono, belong to a small religious group called the Church of Body Modification. The group believes that piercings, tattoos and other adornments are a way of expressing religious faith. The lawsuit describes Iacono's piercing as a "tiny gem piercing no bigger than the average freckle".
