CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (LifeSiteNews) – The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education in North Carolina has agreed to pay Ardrey Kell High School junior Gabby Stout $95,000 after harassing her over a Bible verse and message commemorating slain populist influencer Charlie Kirk.
As covered by The College Fix and Alliance Defending Freedom, following Kirk’s September 2025 murder, Stout sought and received permission to paint “Live Like Kirk” and “John 11:25” on the school’s “spirit rock,” a large boulder used for various student messages. But school officials ordered it painted over just hours later, and in the following days publicly accused her of “vandalism,” launched an investigation that included demanding to see her phone logs, and issued a new speech code limiting spirit rock messages to non-religious, “positive school spirit” and “inclusive values of our school community.”
Stout was eventually cleared of vandalism allegations, but the school neither apologized nor acknowledged what it did to her. The family sued with the help of ADF and has reached a settlement in which the board agrees to publicly apologize and clear Stout of wrongdoing, pay $95,000 in damages and legal fees, and adopt a new policy recognizing students’ free speech rights.
“What happened to this student is outrageous. School officials should never censor, punish, or shame a student simply for sharing her views,” said ADF attorney Travis Barham. “Charlie Kirk boldly defended open and respectful discourse on school grounds literally until his last breath, and this courage inspired many across the country, including our client, whom Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials treated so abominably.”
“It is long past time for school officials to learn that they cannot promote student viewpoints they like while punishing students whose views they dislike,” he added. “We hope the new policy prevents school officials from subjecting any other students to the abuse our client experienced and will instead force them to respect every student’s constitutional rights.”
The indoctrination of children with left-wing ideology on sexuality, race, and other agenda items has long been a major concern in American schools and libraries, from book shelves to drag events to classroom materials to even “transitioning” troubled children without parental input. Many schools have also displayed hostility to the rights and employment of individual teachers who refuse to go along with such agendas.
Across the nation, controversy has also erupted in recent years over schools and libraries adopting books that expose sexual themes and activity to children, often in graphic detail and with pornographic imagery depicting specific sexual acts. A disturbing number of left-wing extremists who have publicly celebrated Kirk’s death hailed from the education field.
In response, the Trump administration has issued executive orders to deny federal funds to educational entities that indoctrinate students through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, among other executive actions to combat so-called “woke ideology” in education, from LGBT indoctrination to girls’ intimate spaces and female-specific sports teams.