Latest news with #TennesseeChristianPreparatorySchool
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Tennessee teenager sues Christian school after suspension following LGBTQ post
A Tennessee high school student is suing a religious Tennessee private school after she was suspended in May following a post on social media in which she came out as gay. Morgan Armstrong, a graduating senior at Tennessee Christian Preparatory School, posted photos on social media of her girlfriend and herself in late April. Days later, the private Cleveland, Tennessee school suspended her for the rest of the school year, banned her from campus and campus events, including her final exams and high school graduation, and terminated Armstrong's student records, according to the lawsuit. The school accused her of slander and of violating the school's social media policy by posting 'a disparaging remark reflecting the people at Tennessee Christian,' on Instagram, according to her suspension letter included in the lawsuit. Included as evidence in the letter was a screenshot of a private Snapchat message that Morgan had sent to some of her friends asking them to 'like and comment' on her post, expressing fear over potential Facebook comments from people because she had some 'ruthless Trump supporting 'Jesus' (expletives) on there.' Nothing in her message referred to the school, or involved Instagram. 'She is not talking about the school,' said Daniel Horwitz, a prominent Nashville attorney representing Armstrong. 'It's about a family member. So what they have done is copied that message into this suspension letter, but it's paired with these assertions of fact that are not accurate.' The school did not respond to requests for comment and had not filed any legal response at the time of publication. While the school's handbook states its organizational opposition to 'sexual immorality,' including 'homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct' and more, calling it 'sinful and offensive to God,' it only explicitly requires employees to adhere to the beliefs, and is not cited in Armstrong's suspension letter. In the suspension letter, the school also demanded that Armstrong 'not comment about the school or people associated with the school,' and stated that 'If online slander continues, records of posts and messages will be forwarded to colleges and universities as part of a comprehensive student file.' "Private schools are not government agencies, so they can use school discipline to regulate student speech more strictly than the First Amendment permits at public schools,' said Robert Shibley, special counsel for campus advocacy at Foundation for Individual Rights and Free Expression. 'However, being a private school student does not strip you of your First Amendment protection against being unlawfully punished by the government for your speech, whether at school or elsewhere." The letter concluded stating that the school would withhold her diploma it if its demands 'are not adhered too.' A bulk of the lawsuit rests on the school's alleged breach of contract against Armstrong, with Horwitz stating that the school did not follow its own disciplinary policies that Armstrong contractually agreed too. A first-time offense like Armstrong's, according to the school handbook, should result in a one day in-school suspension. Armstrong's lawsuit seeks to have her suspension expunged, or at least changed to be a one-day suspension in accordance with the school's written policy for first-time social media violations, and that she be allowed to take her finals and receive her diploma without stipulation. 'This is her first claimed violation of the social media policy,' Horwitz said. 'It does not permit them to do what they have done here…she knows the underlying facts here. It's her (coming out) post. It was not about the school. The only post that that she put on Instagram was the one about 'the cat's out of the bag' with photos with her girlfriend. So it's pretty clear to everybody on our side of the fence what is actually going on here, which is that they did not want to be associated with her anymore. They did not like the fact that she was gay.' The USA TODAY Network - Tennessee's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Have a story to tell? Reach Angele Latham by email at alatham@ by phone at 931-623-9485, or follow her on Twitter at @angele_latham This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee teen sues Christian school after suspension following LGBTQ post
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
High Schooler Came Out as Gay Online. Days Later She Was Suspended and Banned from Graduation: Lawsuit
In April, Morgan Armstrong, a graduating senior at Tennessee Christian Preparatory School, came out publicly and announced on social media post that she was in a relationship with a woman A lawsuit filed by the student and her parents alleged that days later, the school suspended her and banned her from attending graduation In a statement, a school official denied the allegations made in Armstrong's lawsuit, calling them 'misleading"A student has filed a lawsuit against her high school, alleging that she was suspended, banned from campus and prohibited from attending graduation after coming out as gay on social media and revealing she had a girlfriend. According to a complaint obtained by PEOPLE and filed on May 19, Morgan Armstrong, an 18-year-old graduating senior at Tennessee Christian Preparatory School, made the social media post on April 23, writing "cats outta the bag." A screenshot of the post, which was included in the complaint, showed Armstrong and her girlfriend kissing and holding hands. In an interview with The Washington Post, Armstrong defended the post. 'Everyone else gets to post their boyfriend or girlfriend. So just because I have a girlfriend and I'm a girl, why does that mean that I shouldn't be able to?" she asked. "I love my girlfriend and I wanted to show it.' Days after making the post, Armstrong was summoned to the administrator's office and given a suspension letter, according to the complaint. The suspension letter, which was included in the complaint, stated that Armstrong would not be allowed on campus or any school events, including but not limited to graduation, which took place on May 10. Although the school said that her diploma will be mailed to her on June 15, the complaint alleged that the school "explicitly threatened to sabotage Morgan's college admissions process and to withhold Morgan's diploma" if there was any "online slander" about the school or anybody associated with it. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories Additionally, the school alleged in the letter that Morgan's social media posting included "a disparaging remark reflecting the people at Tennessee Christian," a claim that Armstrong disputes. The complaint claimed that her suspension letter mentioned a private message that the senior sent to some of her friends that read: 'go like and comment on my post guys bc if no one on my socials knew I was gay then they sure as hell do now so this is a big thing tbh, also I'm kinda scared about the facebook comments bc i have some ruthless trump supporting 'jesus' mfs on there.' However, according to the complaint, that message did not refer to the school, but instead to some of Armstrong's relatives — people who, according to Armstrong, 'profess but do not practice Christian principles of love, acceptance, and compassion.' The complaint alleged the real reason why the school suspended her 'was the fact that she had come out as gay" — and that even if she had violated the school's social media policy, since this would have been a first-time offense, the maximum policy should have been a 1 day in-school suspension. In a statement shared with NBC affiliate WRCB, the school rejected the allegations made in Armstrong's lawsuit, calling them 'misleading.' 'Despite this supposed legal dispute, Tennessee Christian remains fully committed to delivering Morgan Armstrong's diploma. Our goal continues to be the academic and personal success of each student, even in the face of conflict or disagreement. We wish Morgan Armstrong the very best as she continues her academics in college,' wrote Jared Tilley, Tennessee Christian's head of school. PEOPLE contacted Tennessee Christian Preparatory School for comment on Thursday, May 29. Armstrong and her parents, who are named co-plaintiffs in the suit, are seeking to expunge Armstrong's suspension record and disciplinary violation, allow her to take her final exams, forbid the school from withholding her diploma and prohibit the school from 'sabotaging' Armstrong's college admissions process. 'School is a place where every student is entitled to feel welcome, accepted, and supported,' Daniel A. Horwitz, Armstrong's attorney, said in a statement 'It is not a place where any administrator should feel comfortable disciplining kids for being gay or threatening to sabotage their college admissions process.' Read the original article on People
Washington Post
29-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Student banned from graduation after coming out online, lawsuit says
Days before Morgan Armstrong was set to graduate from Tennessee Christian Preparatory School, she announced on Instagram and Facebook that she is gay and in a relationship with another woman. Armstrong, 18, said the late-April decision to come out online — using the caption 'cats outta the bag' — happened spontaneously.
