ARCADIA — A 15-year-old DeSoto County High School student filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, claiming the DeSoto County School District violated her First Amendment right to free speech by punishing her for trying to take part in a gay-rights “Day of Silence” last year.

The suit, filed in United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, names as defendants former DeSoto County School Superintendent Adrian H. Cline as well as DeSoto County High School Principal Shannon Fusco and Dean of Students Ermatine Jones, along with the district and the School Board.