Student Suspended for Saying “Illegal Alien” Awarded $20,000 from School District
A North Carolina high school student who was suspended for using the term “illegal aliens” during a class discussion is set to receive a public apology and $20,000 in a legal settlement from the school district.
On Tuesday, the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina finalized the agreement between 16-year-old Christian McGhee and Davidson County Schools, resolving a year-long legal battle over the student’s suspension. McGhee was suspended in April 2024 after reportedly asking during an English class discussion, “Do you mean space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards?” The school imposed a three-day suspension and marked his permanent record with a note for “racially insensitive behavior.”
Sixteen-year-old Christian McGhee did something crazy in 2024—he asked a question. During an English class discussion, he tried to clarify a term by saying, “Do you mean space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards?” Logical, right? The school didn’t think so.
Instead of treating it like a basic vocabulary moment, the school gave him a three-day suspension. Worse? They slapped a note on his permanent record for “racially insensitive behavior.” Over six words. You can’t make this stuff up.
So Christian and his family filed a lawsuit. Fast forward to July 2025—a federal judge sided with the teen. The Davidson County school district was forced to pony up $20,000, issue a public apology, and scrub the bogus disciplinary record clean. President Trump even gave Christian a letter of recommendation to help him score a college athletic scholarship.
This case wasn’t about a bad joke or actual hate speech. It was a kid saying a phrase the immigration courts use all the time. But the school saw an opportunity to flex their “sensitivity training” muscles. They lost.
Sarah Parshall Perry, a legal fellow at Defending Education, said it best: “Students do not shed their free speech rights at the schoolhouse gate.” That’s Supreme Court doctrine. Apparently the school never got the memo.
Want to know how deep this rot goes? It took a yearlong legal battle to confirm a public-school kid has a right to speak honestly without being labeled a bigot. That’s not education. That’s indoctrination in disguise.
On Tuesday, the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina finalized the agreement between 16-year-old Christian McGhee and Davidson County Schools, resolving a year-long legal battle over the student’s suspension. McGhee was suspended in April 2024 after reportedly asking during an English class discussion, “Do you mean space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards?” The school imposed a three-day suspension and marked his permanent record with a note for “racially insensitive behavior.”
Sixteen-year-old Christian McGhee did something crazy in 2024—he asked a question. During an English class discussion, he tried to clarify a term by saying, “Do you mean space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards?” Logical, right? The school didn’t think so.
Instead of treating it like a basic vocabulary moment, the school gave him a three-day suspension. Worse? They slapped a note on his permanent record for “racially insensitive behavior.” Over six words. You can’t make this stuff up.
So Christian and his family filed a lawsuit. Fast forward to July 2025—a federal judge sided with the teen. The Davidson County school district was forced to pony up $20,000, issue a public apology, and scrub the bogus disciplinary record clean. President Trump even gave Christian a letter of recommendation to help him score a college athletic scholarship.
This case wasn’t about a bad joke or actual hate speech. It was a kid saying a phrase the immigration courts use all the time. But the school saw an opportunity to flex their “sensitivity training” muscles. They lost.
Sarah Parshall Perry, a legal fellow at Defending Education, said it best: “Students do not shed their free speech rights at the schoolhouse gate.” That’s Supreme Court doctrine. Apparently the school never got the memo.
Want to know how deep this rot goes? It took a yearlong legal battle to confirm a public-school kid has a right to speak honestly without being labeled a bigot. That’s not education. That’s indoctrination in disguise.
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