The 17-year-old got in trouble after a teacher told him to use the word "alien" in a sentence. McGhee asked if she was referring to space aliens or illegal aliens without green cards.

The school determined that phrase was offensive and disrespectful. They accused McGhee of racism.

"Even though Christian asked a factual, non-threatening question—about a word the class was discussing—the school board branded him with false accusations of racism," said Buck Dougherty, an attorney with Liberty Justice Center. "The school has not only violated his constitutional right to free speech, but also his right to due process and his right to access education, a guaranteed right under North Carolina law. We are proud to stand beside Christian and his family in challenging this egregious violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments."

Instead of letting it go, McGhee's mother went into mama bear mode – and appealed the ruling. When the school district refused to budge, she filed a lawsuit against the school.

She took great offense at the notion that her son was a racist. She also accused the district of violating her son's First Amendment rights.

"I have raised our son to reject racism in all its forms, but it is the school, not Christian, that injected race into this incident. It appears that this administration would rather destroy its own reputation and the reputation of my son rather than admit they made a mistake," said Leah McGhee.

And now comes words that the Davidson County Board of Education has agreed to settle the case. The school will publicly apologize to Christian, and he will receive $20,000 to cover tuition at a private school.The Liberty Justice Center represented the family and helped to clear Christian's name and record.

"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," said Dean McGee, a Liberty Justice Center attorney. "Fortunately, young people do not shed their First Amendment rights at school, and we look forward to vindicating Christian's rights here."

My only objection to the settlement is the dollar amount. Christian deserves $2 million, not $20,000. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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