DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) — A Dublin Jerome High School senior gave a presentation at the Columbus Public Library Dublin Branch on Thursday afternoon. The presentation was created for a class, but was then canceled after the student said the topic was deemed controversial by the school district.

Corinne Embi’s final project for her Women’s Studies class was to be a presentation on activism. For the project, she chose to talk about Trans-youth issues. 

“My Women’s Studies teacher was mostly supportive. She was like a little iffy on some of the language I use, but it seemed to be fine. I seemed to be protected under, you know, freedom of speech. But on Friday, May 2nd, after I’d already gotten permission to put the fliers out, they took them down. They said I couldn’t put any fliers back up. They said I couldn’t do the presentation here at Jerome after school. And that was obviously a huge setback. But I still assumed I would be able to present my findings in my work to the class,” explained Embi.

The presentation was to happen after school in the theater room on Monday, May 12. It came as a surprise to Embi when she was told it would not happen.

“When I had that first meeting, Wednesday, April 30th, with the administrator to, like, put up fliers to set up the teacher, and they had no issues with it at all,” Embi explained.

“I didn’t want this to like completely silence all the research I did,” added Embi.

She was able to book a time to reserve a meeting room at the library to give the presentation. The presentation on Thursday afternoon focused on legislative issues at the state level that Embi said target Trans-youth.

“I’ve been very much hurt by this anti-trans legislation, and I’ve been hurt by the rampant transphobia that’s been, like, growing. And like in young men, especially, it’s just made for a very uncomfortable high school experience for me,” she said.

The presentation was important to Embi. When approached by the school, she said they cited school board policy.

“The school board would never have allowed this if they knew this is what you were going to do. So you can’t present it. That’s how they put it,” she said.

But Embi wasn’t the only student who didn’t get a chance to present their work.

“On Friday, May 9th, the teacher came in and there was an administrator in class too, and she informed us that, due to, you know, outside circumstances, no one would be able to present their project. So, that was after they already told me I couldn’t present it, so I thought it would just only affect me. That just kind of motivated me even more to continue with this,” explained Embi.

A spokesperson for Dublin City Schools provided NBC4 with this statement regarding the situation.

“Dublin City Schools supports student voice and encourages thoughtful civic engagement as part of our instructional programs. A recent class project at Dublin Jerome High School explored meaningful social issues, and students were encouraged to research topics that reflect their interests and values.

We understand that a recent news article focused on one student’s experience with this assignment. It’s important to clarify that the concerns raised were not about the content of the student’s project, but rather the distribution of promotional materials throughout the school prior to completing the required approval process.

Board Policy 5722 (School-Sponsored Student Publications and Productions) and Policy 9700 (Relations with Special Interest Groups) guide how materials and events are shared in our schools. These policies are in place to ensure all student-led activities are reviewed in advance to protect the integrity of the instructional day and the well-being of all students.

In this case, the promotional flyers were distributed before the necessary steps were completed. LGBTQ+ student organizations across our district regularly promote events and activities without issue by following these same procedures.

Regarding the project presentation, it is our understanding that the presentation component was removed from the rubric for all students in the class, not just the student referenced in the article.

Finally, we can confirm that the student and her peers wore shirts and bracelets last Friday as a form of peaceful expression, without restriction or interference from school administrators.

Dublin City Schools remains committed to creating a respectful, inclusive learning environment that values student expression, ensures equitable treatment, and maintains a safe and focused educational setting for all.”

Corinne Embi’s mother, Colleen Sheridan, helped pass out wristbands and fliers at the presentation Thursday. The small meeting room was packed with around seventy people there to show support for Embi.

“There’s so much negativity to see everyone coming out and supporting my daughter. It’s just it’s heartwarming,” Sheridan explained. 

Sheridan saw how hard her daughter worked on the project and was “heartbroken” to see her work get shut down. 

“I got a phone call saying we just it was from one of the administrators, and that they were the administrator was sort of apologetic to me, saying, you know, we had approved or I had approved the fliers, but I hadn’t read them closely and had put them up. I think they were worried about a protest, and it had some inflammatory language, in their opinion. And it was for Corinne’s safety that they decided not to let her have this discussion.” Sheridan said.

“When they said she could not even hand out these bracelets on campus, that was just too much. And that was disruptive. That really seemed out of line. She adapted just incredibly, which made me very proud. But it broke my heart,” she explained.