A federal judge in North Carolina has ordered the Johnston County school system to allow Ariana Iacono to return to school, after he determined that her lawsuit challenging the ban on body piercing is likely to succeed. Iacono maintains a pierced nose as part of her and her family's religious beliefs.
The Iaconos belong to a small religious group called the Church of Body Modification, which sees piercings and tattoos as religious devotion. The church has 3,500 members nationwide and was incorporated in Pennsylvania in July 2008, according to the lawsuit.
Richard Ivey, the Iaconos' Raleigh minister in the Church of Body Modification, said the temporary order is encouraging.
"It's a great step toward justice," he said.
