Davidson County Schools settles student suspension case

Davidson County Schools has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a student who was suspended from Central Davidson High School in 2024 for using the term “illegal alien” and causing a classroom disruption.  

According to the settlement agreement that was filed with the U.S. Middle District court on May 30, the Davidson County Schools Board of Education will issued a formal apology to the student, Christian McGhee, as well as his parents, Leah and Chad McGhee.  

The school district will also be required to pay the McGhee family $20,000 to resolve the litigation, according to the settlement agreement.  

In April 2024, 16-year-old Christian McGhee was suspended from Central Davidson High School for causing a classroom disruption. According to the lawsuit, McGhee inquired for clarification of the term “alien” during a vocabulary lesson in his English class.  He asked whether the term meant “illegal alien who needs a green card” or “space aliens”, according to court documents. Another student took offense at the statement and verbally threatened McGhee. 

As a result, McGhee was suspended for three days for causing a classroom disruption, according to school leadership. 

Leah McGhee said she was unable to appeal the suspension because the school district’s policy only allows appeals for suspensions over 10 days. McGhee previously stated that her sons’ statements were not racially motivated, and that he was being unduly punished for a minor misunderstanding. 

May 2024, Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit against the Davidson County Board of Education with the U.S. Middle District on behalf of McGhee. The lawsuit stated the student had been harshly punished and falsely accused of making a racially insensitive slur. It also claimed his statements were protected under his First Amendment rights. 

The lawsuit also claimed McGhee was not able to compete in an important track meet because of the suspension, and he had also been subjected to bullying, threats and other forms of harassment. Due to these issues, his parents withdrew McGhee from the school and was homeschooled. 

According to the settlement agreement on May 30, Davidson County Schools are also required to clear McGhee’s school records that his comments were racially motivated or otherwise specifically biased. But because the school district maintains there was class disruption caused by the comments at issue, the suspension will remain otherwise unchanged due to school policy 

The settlement agreement is scheduled in U.S. Middle District Court on July 1, where it will be officially signed by a judge.