The war against free speech in America’s government schools just suffered a major defeat.
A brave 16-year-old refused to back down when administrators tried to silence him.
And one student just delivered a crushing blow to woke educators that has parents cheering.
Student suspended for using factually correct term fights back
Christian McGhee was sitting in his English class at Davidson County Schools in North Carolina when he asked a simple question during a classroom discussion last April.
“Do you mean space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards?” the 16-year-old student asked.¹
It was an innocent question using the factually correct legal term that appears in federal immigration law.
But woke school administrators saw an opportunity to flex their ideological muscles against a student who dared to use language that didn’t conform to their political agenda.
The school suspended McGhee for three days and added marks to his permanent record claiming he exhibited “racially insensitive behavior.”
Think about that for a moment.
A student used the exact same terminology that appears in federal statutes, and school officials branded him a racist and potentially damaged his future college and career prospects.
This is what happens when radical leftist ideology infects our education system.
But McGhee and his parents weren’t going to let these woke bullies get away with trampling on their son’s constitutional rights.
They filed a federal lawsuit against Davidson County Schools for violating the teenager’s First Amendment rights and mischaracterizing his comments as racially biased.
School district forced to eat crow and pay up
After a year-long legal battle, Davidson County Schools just learned what happens when you mess with the constitutional rights of American students.
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder approved a settlement on Tuesday that forced the school district to publicly apologize to McGhee, correct his permanent record, and pay him $20,000.²
The settlement requires the school to acknowledge “the inappropriate response to this matter by a former member” and remove all references to racial insensitivity from McGhee’s permanent record.
The story of Christian McGhee caught the attention 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.³
When a former President who now serves again recognizes your courage in standing up to woke school administrators, you know you’re doing something right.
Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal fellow at conservative nonprofit Defending Education, celebrated the victory and issued a warning to other school districts contemplating similar unconstitutional actions.
“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,” Perry told Fox News Digital.⁴
Perry explained that the lengthy legal battle revealed how far education has strayed from constitutional principles under previous policies focused on identity politics.
School district tried to smear student’s mother
The disgusting behavior by Davidson County Schools didn’t stop with suspending an innocent student.
When McGhee’s mother courageously spoke up in defense of her son at school board meetings, the district launched a vicious campaign to destroy her reputation.
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.⁵
Let that sink in.
School board members – public officials who are supposed to serve the community – tried to weaponize a parent’s past against her because she had the audacity to defend her son’s constitutional rights.
This is the kind of Soviet-style intimidation tactics that woke school administrators use against parents who dare to challenge their authority.
They can’t win on the merits of their arguments, so they resort to character assassination and personal attacks.
It’s despicable behavior that should result in these board members being removed from office immediately.
A warning shot to woke educators everywhere
McGhee’s victory sends a powerful message to school administrators across the country who think they can silence students and intimidate parents with impunity.
The federal courts won’t tolerate attacks on the First Amendment rights of students, no matter how much woke ideology has infected our education system.
Perry’s warning to other districts was crystal clear.
“The mission of American education is rooted in the viewpoint diversity of a pluralistic society,” she stated. “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.”⁶
This win comes at the perfect moment.
Trump’s already moving to clean house in America’s government schools, and administrators like the ones in Davidson County are about to learn some very expensive lessons.
Want to turn your classroom into a woke indoctrination center? Fine – but get ready to write some big checks when parents lawyer up. And trust me, they’re lawyering up.
McGhee’s fight shows what happens when you don’t back down. Kids across the country are watching this – and so are their parents.
Here’s what’s really wild about this whole mess: “illegal aliens” is literally the term Congress uses in federal law. It’s not slang. It’s not derogatory. It’s the actual legal definition.
But apparently using accurate legal terminology now gets you branded a racist in our government schools. How’s that for educational excellence?
Look, McGhee and his family just proved something important – you can beat these people. They’re not invincible. They’re just bureaucrats who got drunk on their own power.
So what’s next? Are other school boards going to wise up after watching Davidson County get humiliated in federal court? Or are they going to double down and hand out more settlement checks?
These people never learn until it hits their budget.
¹ Alec Schemmel, “Student suspended for saying ‘illegal aliens’ in class gets cash, apology from school,” Fox News, July 24, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
