School agrees to pay student $10,000 after she was suspended for announcing she is a lesbian
More than a year after a student sued a private high school in Tennessee for suspending her and barring her from attending graduation following her public announcement of being gay on social media, the school has agreed to pay her $10,000 to resolve the case.
A final judgment was filed on Monday, June 22, in the Chancery Court of Bradley County, Tennessee, confirming a settlement between Morgan Armstrong and Tennessee Christian Preparatory School.
At the time of the incident, Armstrong, then 18 and a senior, shared a post on April 23 stating, “cats outta the bag,” accompanied by a photo of her kissing and holding hands with her girlfriend—a screenshot of which was included in the legal complaint obtained by PEOPLE and filed May 19, 2025.
In a May 29, 2025 interview with The Washington Post, Armstrong questioned the fairness of the school’s response: “Everyone else gets to post about their boyfriend or girlfriend. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to, just because mine is a girl? I love her, and I wanted to show that.”
Shortly after the post, Armstrong was called to the school administration office and given a suspension notice. According to the complaint, the letter prohibited her from being on campus or attending any school-related events, including the May 10, 2025 graduation ceremony.
While the school indicated her diploma would be mailed on June 15, 2025, the complaint alleged that administrators threatened to interfere with her college admissions or withhold her diploma if she posted negative content about the school or its staff online.
The school also claimed in the suspension letter that her social media activity contained a disparaging comment about the Tennessee Christian community—a claim Armstrong denies. The letter referenced a private message she sent to friends encouraging them to engage with her post, in which she expressed nervousness about reactions from certain Facebook users she described as “ruthless trump supporting ‘jesus’ mother fuckers.”
Armstrong clarified that the message referred not to the school, but to some relatives she believes claim to follow Christian values without truly embodying love, acceptance, or compassion.
The lawsuit argued that the true reason for her suspension was her coming out as gay. Even if she had broken the school’s social media policy, it would have been a first offense, warranting at most a one-day in-school suspension under existing guidelines.
Armstrong and her parents, who joined as co-plaintiffs, sought to have her disciplinary record cleared, allow her to take final exams, prevent the withholding of her diploma, and stop the school from undermining her college applications.
According to the final judgment reviewed by PEOPLE, both parties agreed that the suspension has been officially rescinded, despite differing views on whether school policies were violated. The order also confirmed that the school did not contact colleges to speak negatively about Armstrong and is now barred from doing so in the future.
As part of the resolution, the school must pay Armstrong $10,000, bringing the lawsuit to a close.
In a statement provided to ABC affiliate WTVC, Tennessee Christian Preparatory School said: “Tennessee Christian and the Armstrong family disagree on the degree to which Morgan Armstrong breached school policies. Both sides recognize this disagreement remains and have chosen to move forward. No additional statements will be issued.”
Daniel Horwitz, attorney for Armstrong and her family, said in a statement to PEOPLE: “School should be a place where every student feels welcome, accepted, and supported. It should never be a setting where students are disciplined or threatened simply for being who they are. We were honored to represent Morgan and her family in this important case and are glad we could achieve a positive outcome. We hope her courage encourages others to stand up for themselves as she did.”
Tennessee Christian Preparatory School did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Tuesday, June 23.
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