Why Ardrey Kell student says CMS violated her rights over Charlie Kirk tribute
Parents of a south Charlotte high schooler have filed a lawsuit against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, claiming the school board violated their daughter’s right to free speech.
The student, named only G.S. in the lawsuit since she is a minor, painted the spirit rock that sits outside Ardrey Kell High School in September following the assassination of online political activist Charlie Kirk in Utah Sept. 10. The painted messages stated “Live like Kirk; John 11:25” and “Freedom 1776.”
The school’s principal Susan Nichols later sent a message to families saying the tribute was unauthorized, and it was painted over.
The lawsuit was filed Monday by attorneys with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit Christian legal advocacy group. The lawsuit is filed in the federal court for North Carolina’s Western District.
“The junior at Ardrey Kell High School seeks to share her Christian faith and values with others at the school,” the ADF said in a news release Tuesday. “She sought permission from the school to paint a message on the school’s ‘spirit rock’ in support of Kirk’s Christian message, and the school granted permission. But, within hours, school officials ordered her message to be censored and then engaged in efforts to publicly humiliate her and the friends who helped her.”
The lawsuit alleges that the CMS school board violated the student’s right to free speech and retaliated against her for exercising it.
Background
Nichols’ original message to Ardrey Kell families Sept. 14 called the act “vandalism” and said it violated the CMS Code of Student Conduct. It also said law enforcement had been contacted and the school was cooperating with the investigation.
In October, however, the school district sent a follow-up message, reversing course on its previous statement. It said that the incident was not vandalism, it did not violate the district’s Code of Student Conduct and law enforcement was not contacted to conduct an investigation.
“The incident did cause a disruption within our school community,” the message said. “Therefore, Dr. Nichols responded by establishing guidelines for the use of the Spirit Rock.”
The spirit rock sits at the entrance of Ardrey Kell’s campus and operates like a billboard. It’s often painted with messages for students’ birthdays or messages of school spirit before football games.
The school sent out an email clarifying that the rock is “not to be used for personal, political or religious messages” following the September incident.
