{"id":2068,"date":"2026-06-16T04:09:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T04:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068"},"modified":"2026-06-16T04:09:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T04:09:57","slug":"student-wins-95k-settlement-after-suing-school-for-painting-over-charlie-kirk-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068","title":{"rendered":"Student wins $95K settlement after suing school for painting over Charlie Kirk tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

A North Carolina school district entered into a five-figure settlement to resolve a free-speech lawsuit filed after painting over a student\u2019s tribute to Charlie Kirk on a campus forum known as \u201cspirit rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Netflix\u2019s price hike reveals its monopoly grip<\/a><\/p>\n

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education will pay $95,000 in damages and attorneys\u2019 fees; update its free-speech policy; and issue a statement exonerating the teen and expressing \u201cregret that the student had this experience,\u201d according to the Alliance Defending Freedom.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened to this student is outrageous. School officials should never censor, punish, or shame a student simply for sharing her views,\u201d Travis Barham, ADF senior counsel, said in a Monday statement.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit filed in December accused the board of violating the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of the student, a junior at Ardrey Kell High School, by muzzling her homage to Kirk shortly after his Sept. 10 assassination.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharlie 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,\u201d Mr. Barham said.<\/p>\n

The student identified in the complaint as G.S. painted \u201cFreedom 1776\u201d and \u201cLive Like Kirk \u2014 John 11:25\u201d on a large boulder near the school\u2019s main entrance after obtaining the go-ahead from an office employee to post \u201csomething for Charlie Kirk who recently passed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students frequently painted the boulder with messages, including \u201cBlack Lives Matter\u201d and \u201cHands Up Don\u2019t Shoot\u201d in 2020, following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

Even so, school officials ordered the Kirk tribute scrubbed, then contacted law enforcement about what the principal described as \u201cvandalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The student was called out of class to write an official statement and ordered to show administrators her phone logs without her parents\u2019 permission.<\/p>\n

The district followed up with a revised speech code that banned religious and political statements from the rock, restricting messages to those conveying \u201cpositive school spirit\u201d and upholding \u201cthe inclusive values of our school community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more D.C. voters to choose new mayor, congressional rep for first time in decades<\/a><\/p>\n

The alliance argued that the policy allowed school officials to \u201csubjectively decide what speech is \u2018positive.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Three days later, school officials concluded that the student and her friends had not committed vandalism, but did not offer an apology or acknowledge that she had been under investigation.<\/p>\n

The board voted June 9 to adopt its first district-wide policy on student free speech that prevents students from being disciplined for protected speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless otherwise restricted by law or policy, non-disruptive student speech that does not impair the rights of others should be presumed to be protected under the First Amendment,\u201d the Student Free Speech policy said. \u201cIn other words, the default position is that student speech is constitutionally protected. This includes, but is not limited to, political and religious speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

The district included exceptions for \u201cdisruptive speech, \u201cspeech that invades the rights of other students,\u201d \u201cprofane speech,\u201d and speech promoting illegal drug use.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe policy committee, along with our legal department, are confident we have a policy that provides clarity and guidance for each of our school leaders that allows students to exercise their First Amendment rights while minimizing incidents that could cause disruption,\u201d Gregory Ranking, board vice chair, told WCNC-TV in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

The Washington Times has reached out to the school district for comment on the settlement.<\/p>\n

Mr. Barham called it \u201clong past time for school officials to learn that they cannot promote student viewpoints they like while punishing students whose views they dislike.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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\u2019s constitutional rights,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Read more Japanese, Korean markets surge on end-of-Iran-war news<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A North Carolina school district entered into a five-figure settlement to resolve a free-speech lawsuit filed after painting over a student’s tribute to Charlie Kirk on a campus forum known as “spirit rock.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,6],"tags":[1413,1415,128,1414],"class_list":["post-2068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news","tag-alliance-defending-freedom","tag-ardrey-kell-high-school","tag-charlie-kirk","tag-charlotte-mecklenburg-board-of-education"],"yoast_head":"\nStudent wins $95K settlement after suing school for painting over Charlie Kirk tribute - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Student wins $95K settlement after suing school for painting over Charlie Kirk tribute - Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A North Carolina school district entered into a five-figure settlement to resolve a free-speech lawsuit filed after painting over a student's tribute to Charlie Kirk on a campus forum known as "spirit rock."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-16T04:09:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"headline\":\"Student wins $95K settlement after suing school for painting over Charlie Kirk tribute\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T04:09:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068\"},\"wordCount\":653,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/afd6435320d688e4e9e895e9c59d7e70.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Alliance Defending Freedom\",\"Ardrey Kell High School\",\"Charlie Kirk\",\"Charlotte Mecklenburg Board Of Education\"],\"articleSection\":[\"National\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068\",\"name\":\"Student wins $95K settlement after suing school for painting over Charlie Kirk tribute - Home Buyer Relocation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/afd6435320d688e4e9e895e9c59d7e70.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T04:09:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/afd6435320d688e4e9e895e9c59d7e70.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/afd6435320d688e4e9e895e9c59d7e70.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":700},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=2068#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Student wins $95K settlement after suing school for painting over Charlie Kirk tribute\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home Buyer Relocation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Student wins $95K settlement after suing school for painting over Charlie Kirk tribute - Home Buyer Relocation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Student wins $95K settlement after suing school for painting over Charlie Kirk tribute - Home Buyer Relocation","og_description":"A North Carolina school district entered into a five-figure settlement to resolve a free-speech lawsuit filed after painting over a student's tribute to Charlie Kirk on a campus forum known as \"spirit rock.\"","og_url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068","og_site_name":"Home Buyer Relocation","article_published_time":"2026-06-16T04:09:57+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"headline":"Student wins $95K settlement after suing school for painting over Charlie Kirk tribute","datePublished":"2026-06-16T04:09:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068"},"wordCount":653,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/afd6435320d688e4e9e895e9c59d7e70.jpeg","keywords":["Alliance Defending Freedom","Ardrey Kell High School","Charlie Kirk","Charlotte Mecklenburg Board Of Education"],"articleSection":["National","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068","name":"Student wins $95K settlement after suing school for painting over Charlie Kirk tribute - Home Buyer Relocation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/afd6435320d688e4e9e895e9c59d7e70.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-06-16T04:09:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/afd6435320d688e4e9e895e9c59d7e70.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/afd6435320d688e4e9e895e9c59d7e70.jpeg","width":1200,"height":700},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2068#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Student wins $95K settlement after suing school for painting over Charlie Kirk tribute"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/","name":"Home Buyer Relocation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com"],"url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}