Louisiana Teen Punished by High School for Dancing at Homecoming Afterparty

Louisiana Teen Punished by High School for Dancing at Homecoming Afterparty.
To Rachel Timonet, the video is harmless: Just her 17-year-old daughter, Kaylee Timonet, laughing and dancing with her friends to a DJ at a party after the Walker High School homecoming.

But three days later, Jason St. Pierre, the public school's principal, stripped her daughter's title as student government president and revoked his help obtaining college scholarships, saying the video was inappropriate, Rachel Timonet says. She says St. Pierre told her daughter she wasn’t “living in the Lord’s way."

The move has ignited outrage and disbelief in the Livingston school district. Parents have taken to social media to decry St. Pierre's actions, comparing them to the movie "Footloose." Some have made T-shirts that say "Let the girl dance," and have encouraged other students to post "twerking" videos in support.

“I was very upset at how the situation was handled. I don’t think anybody should be speaking about faith in any form. They don’t know my beliefs, and it’s a public school,” Rachel Timonet said.

Delia Taylor, a spokesperson for the Livingston Parish School District, said the district plans to investigate the situation, but said she could not comment further.

What happened
“We’ve been having after-parties for years after homecoming and after prom. It’s a place for kids to have fun and dance. I was physically there myself with other parents,” Rachel Timonet said.

The hired DJ took a 15-second video of Kaylee Timonet dancing with friends and later posted it on social media. Rachel Timonet said she and Kaylee saw the video before it was posted and didn’t think anything of it.

“She’s been a dancer since she was 2 years old. She does hip-hop, she dances for Disney, she dances in New York City, and she’s even danced at school [in performances] like that,” Rachel Timonet said.

St. Pierre had recommended Kaylee for two scholarships, but there was still paperwork to fill out, the mom says. So when Kaylee was called into the office on Tuesday, Oct. 3, she assumed that was why.

Instead, St. Pierre and Kelly Becnel, a teacher, told her they were removing her from student government and would no longer recommend her for scholarships, according to Rachel Timonet.

“They said they didn’t want her representing Walker High School. She was totally shocked,” Timonet said. “He told her she wasn’t living in the Lord’s way and questioned who her friends were and if they followed the Lord. She said she didn’t know how to answer that and they said it’s a yes or no question. Meanwhile, she’s sobbing.”

Rachel Timonet said St. Pierre printed out Bible verses and highlighted sections. Most devastating to Kaylee, he told her she was no longer eligible for student of the year.

“Her entire life she’s worked toward that,” Rachel Timonet said. “She said she really felt she didn’t think anything was wrong in the video, but at