A 16-year-old student was suspended from Central Davidson High School in Lexington, North Carolina, last year for uttering the term "illegal alien" during a vocabulary lesson in English class. In addition to his temporary removal, Christian McGhee was effectively characterized as a racist for making what the school's vice principal Eric Anderson claimed was a "racially insensitive remark that caused a class disturbance."

The class environment that McGhee returned to was apparently so hostile — rife with bullying and threats — that his parents had to take him out of school. According to the Liberty Justice Center, the firm that sued the Davidson County Board of Education on McGhee's behalf alleging violations of his First and 14th Amendment rights, the minor ended up completing the semester through a homeschooling program.

'School officials have effectively fabricated a racial incident out of thin air.'

Court documents obtained by the Carolina Journal reveal that the school board is now willing to concede that the teen's language in class — language used by Congress, the North Carolina General Assembly, and the U.S. Supreme Court — wasn't racist after all and to pay up.

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McGhee's lawsuit claimed that on April 9, 2024, the teen was permitted to use the restroom during English class. Upon his return, he found the class engaged in discussion where the word "aliens" came up. The lawsuit claimed that McGhee asked for clarification on the type of aliens being referenced — whether "space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards."

A Hispanic student subsequently joked that he was going to "kick [McGhee's] ass."

Both teens were later hauled into Anderson's office. The complaint alleged that when the Hispanic teen told Anderson he was not offended, the vice principal intimated that he should be, noting McGhee's words "were a big deal."

McGhee was ultimately suspended and notified that "there shall be no right to an appeal of the principal's decision to impose a short term suspension (10 days or less) to the Superintendent or Board of Education."

Dean McGee, senior counsel for educational freedom at the Liberty Justice Center, stated after filing the lawsuit last year, "School officials have effectively fabricated a racial incident out of thin air and branded our client as a racist without even giving him an opportunity to appeal."

Nearly a year into the legal battle, the school board blinked.

'Through your reckless attempt to slander my name, you have successfully re-traumatized my family.'

A Friday court filing indicates that the DCBE and the McGhee family have reached a settlement which, if approved by the judge, will have the school board publicly apologize to the teen and fork over $20,000 in compensation to resolve the litigation. The Carolina Journal indicated that the compensation is supposed to help the family with the cost of the teen's new private school.

While the DCBE maintains that the suspension was appropriate due to class disruption, it also agreed to "remove any reference to race or racial bias as a motive for the comments from his educational record, which contains no other incidences of discipline related to racial bias," said the court documents.

Additionally, the DCBE acknowledged "the inappropriate response to this matter by a sitting member," apparently referencing former school board member Ashley Carroll's reported smear of the teen's mother online.

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Leah McGhee, the plaintiff's mother, alleged last year that despite hearing nothing back from school officials about the possibility of an appeal, "two board members did choose to send messages to county leaders and residents with my personal arrest record from 14 years ago and encourage them to post this on social media."

Leah McGhee noted further that the posts allegedly shared online by board members Carroll and Alan Beck omitted mention of her reintegration into society and her work since helping people with addiction.

"Through your reckless attempt to slander my name, you have successfully re-traumatized my family," said Leah McGhee. "Your weak attempt to assault my character has failed, but your malicious character has been highlighted. It is my opinion that two members on this board are highly corrupt."

Carroll resigned in April after being charged with DWI after getting into a car crash that reportedly injured a teen student in the district. Her departure may account for why the settlement references only a confidential apology from a single board member over Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

"On Friday, we filed a motion asking the court to approve a settlement that would resolve this matter," Dean McGee told the Carolina Journal. "Because Christian is a minor, a court hearing is required before the settlement can become final. We'll have more to say after that hearing, but we're pleased to take this important step toward clearing our client's name."

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