Student suspended for saying 'illegal aliens' in class gets cash, apology from school
The settlement was approved on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, following a year-long legal battle after a 16-year-old student and his parents sued Davidson County Schools for the mischaracterization of racial bias and violation of the student's First Amendment rights.
"Although the parties initially moved to seal the revised settlement agreement, they have since withdrawn any request to seal any version of their settlement," Judge Thomas Schroeder stated in his Tuesday order.
The 16-year-old student was suspended in April of last year after using the term "illegal aliens" during an English class discussion.
"Do you mean space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards?" the student asked.
The student was later suspended for three days and marks denoting "racially insensitive behavior" were added to his permanent record.
The story of Christian McGhee caught the eyes of Donald Trump, who wrote the student a personal recommendation letter as he seeks an athletic scholarship in the years ahead, according to the Liberty Justice Center, which helped with the litigation.
In addition to the public apology required in the settlement, McGhee's school must correct his permanent record so it no longer denotes racial insensitivity and acknowledge "the inappropriate response to this matter by a former member." However, per Schroeder's order, the settlement does not amount to an admission of liability or wrongdoing.
"As the Supreme Court has often reminded us in its First Amendment jurisprudence, students do not shed their free speech rights at the schoolhouse gate. That it took a federal lawsuit and ultimately a court-approved settlement (including an apology to Christian, and a payment of $20,000) is indicative of how far lost many educators have become in the wake of the previous administration's identity politics obsession," Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal fellow at conservative nonprofit Defending Education, told Fox News Digital.
"No more," Perry continued. "The mission of American education is rooted in the viewpoint diversity of a pluralistic society. Our hope is that after Christian's ordeal, schools will think twice about venturing into unconstitutional waters and trampling on the free speech rights of their students."
According to the Liberty Justice Center, McGhee's mother spoke up in defense of her son after the incident happened, including at school board meetings, which led to an alleged attempt to smear her. The center claimed that two board members sent messages to county leaders and residents with the mother's arrest record and encouraged people to post it on social media.
Neither Davidson County Schools, nor the district's board, responded to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
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