Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Kansas 13-Year-Old Kicked Off School Bus By Driver For Telling Her Friend 'I'm A Lesbian'

Kansas 13-Year-Old Kicked Off School Bus By Driver For Telling Her Friend 'I'm A Lesbian'
KSNT News/YouTube

13-year-old Izzy Dieker of Kansas was recently punished for using "inappropriate language" around her peers while riding the school bus.

According to the school bus driver, the word "lesbian" should be on the list of inappropriate words.


Dieker is an eighth-grader at the Americus School in the North Lyon County District in Kansas. She reportedly lives more than 30 minutes away from the school.

While talking to her friends on the bus, Dieker expressed to her friends she was a lesbian.

After getting off the bus that afternoon, Dieker received a surprise.

"Once I got home, my dad told me he got a call from the school that I was kicked off for saying 'I'm a lesbian'."

Dieker's mother, Tasha Cooper, struggled to get answers from the school administration.

The school would not openly discuss the case, but they also stated the family did not have to follow the bus driver's orders.

Cooper reflected:

"She's 13-years old, and these are adults acting like this towards her."
"We've had talks about other students calling her names, and I expect that because they're repeating what their parents say."
"But for the staff, the people that I trust her with, I was angry."

Fortunately, there were people in the district who showed support for the family.

After hearing about what happened, a teacher in the district, Michael Lanzrath, distributed rainbow pins to the faculty and staff to wear to recognize and represent their support of Dieker.

Lanzrath believes support is vital at this age, and it's something he wished he had received when he was younger.

Lanzrath stated:

"I really just wanted to let Izzy know that there are people that absolutely support her."
"Our job as educators is to make sure that all our kids are taken care of."
"To us, all means all."

The support hearteningly radiated out to the Twitterverse, where followers spoke up and expressed their support for Dieker, her personal expression and her continued education.

Some Twitter users said:






It's unclear if anything will be done about how the bus driver addressed the situation, or how Dieker will go to and from school, but it's certain she has support in her school district and community.

More from News/lgbtq

Gavin Newsom; Screenshot of Pete Hegseth
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images; MS Now

Gavin Newsom Rips Pete Hegseth For Suggesting Press Is Only Reporting On U.S. Casualties To Make Trump Look Bad

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was criticized by California Governor Gavin Newsom after Hegseth accused the press of only reporting on the negative effects of President Donald Trump's attacks on Iran.

Trump has said that the U.S. military was "knocking the crap out of Iran" but the "big wave" of attacks is still yet to come, and has not ruled out putting boots on the ground, saying the war is progressing "way ahead of schedule." Trump has urged Iranians to revolt, even as the regime reshuffles leadership following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and some of his associates.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @harryl1223's TikTok video
@harryl1223/TikTok

Cynthia Erivo Praised For Calmly De-Escalating Tense Confrontation With Agitated Man Outside London Theater

Cynthia Erivo continues to show just how talented she is as she recently debuted her one-woman production of Dracula in London's West End.

Earlier this week, Erivo appeared in the backstage lot to speak to fans after one of her shows. But before she stepped out, an altercation had occurred, and a man was making a scene.

Keep ReadingShow less
Padma Lakshmi (left) reacts during an appearance on The Daily Show as Vice President JD Vance (right) stands with his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance (right).
@thedailyshow/Instagram; Antoine Gyori - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Padma Lakshmi Hilariously Roasts JD Vance And His Wife Over Atrocious 'Ranch Dressing' Meal

Padma Lakshmi served up a top-tier helping of judgment for Vice President JD Vance’s questionable meal choice for his wife, Usha Vance.

The second lady, Usha Vance (née Chilukuri), is an American lawyer who made history as the first Indian American and first Hindu to hold the role. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Andhra Pradesh, India.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chloe Kim; P!nk
NBC

Olympian Chloe Kim Just Gushed To P!nk About Loving One Of Her Songs—Except It's Not A P!nk Song

Most of us have gotten our pop queens mixed up a time or two, but few of us have done so on national television—while talking to the pop queen in question.

But Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim sure has!

Keep ReadingShow less
Elmo; Zohran Mamdani
Paul Zimmerman/WireImage/Getty Images; Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images

Elmo Just Asked His Followers 'Where Have You Been?'—And Zohran Mamdani Had The Purest Response

Elmo, the furry red childlike monster from Sesame Street designed by Caroly Wilcox, began his life as a generic "baby monster" background filler in the 1979-1980 season of the long-running children's television program.

Originally having a gruff voice supplied by various puppeteers, Elmo found his falsetto-voiced, loving persona when Kevin Clash took over in 1985. Elmo was transformed into a three-and-a-half-year-old character designed to connect with the show's audience of preschoolers.

Keep ReadingShow less