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Davidson County student suspended for saying 'illegal alien' in class to receive apology, $20K

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A federal judge approved a settlement this week between the Davidson County Board of Education and the parents of a student who was suspended for using the term “illegal alien” in class.

Leah and Chad McGhee’s 16-year-old son was suspended for three days last year after making what school officials called a “racially insensitive remark.”

The parents filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education shortly after the incident. Now, court documents show the parties have reached a settlement.

The school board has agreed to issue a public apology for the “mischaracterization of racial bias” of the student’s comments and pay the family $20,000. It will also correct the student’s related school records.

The agreement specifies that its terms “are not to be construed as an admission of liability or wrongdoing” by either party.

Amy Diaz began covering education in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and High Country for WFDD in partnership with Report For America in 2022. Before entering the world of public radio, she worked as a local government reporter in Flint, Mich. where she was named the 2021 Rookie Writer of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. Diaz is originally from Florida, where she interned at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and freelanced for the Tampa Bay Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, but truly got her start in the field in elementary school writing scripts for the morning news. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.

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