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Family sues school over suspension of student who used term ‘illegal alien’

(NewsNation) — The mother of a North Carolina high school student who was suspended for asking about the term “illegal alien” in class says the punishment could hurt his college prospects if it remains on his record.

Leah McGhee said her 16-year-old son Christian, a 10th-grader at Central Davidson High School, was asking a question when he used the term, which the school allegedly equated with “a vicious racial slur.”


“The Christian grew up in a household that instilled in him the belief in following Jesus Christ. This hurts even more for him because he knows in his heart that he doesn’t have racism in his heart,” McGhee said on NewsNation’s “On Balance” Tuesday.

The family, represented by the Liberty Justice Center, filed a lawsuit against the school district, claiming that Christian violated the rights to free speech, education and due process.

McGhee said she is concerned the three-day suspension could cause problems when Christian applies to colleges next year.

“This label, so unfairly placed on his record, will hinder him,” she told NewsNation.

McGhee said her son has faced exclusion, bullying and threats since returning to school after suspension.

Out of concern for his safety, his parents deregistered him and he is now completing the semester as part of a homeschooling program.

According to the family’s attorney, Dean McGee, school officials refused to hold a restorative justice meeting to discuss the incident, as McGhee had requested.

“If they punished him in the hopes of appearing progressive, they have failed miserably,” McGee said.