NC teen sues school over spirit-rock probe
Gabby Stout, a junior at Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, N.C., filed a lawsuit Monday alleging her public school violated her rights after she painted the campus 'spirit rock' with a religious and patriotic tribute to slain activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 13 and was then accused of vandalism and told law enforcement was contacted. The suit cites a subsequent district policy change banning political and religious messages, claims she was pulled from class, compelled to write a statement, and asked to surrender her phone, and notes a later Oct. 11 message from the district clarifying the incident was not vandalism and law enforcement had not been contacted.
📌 Key Facts
- Complaint filed Monday alleges unconstitutional censorship and intimidation by Ardrey Kell High School/district
- Student painted “Freedom 1776” and “Live Like Kirk—John 11:25” on Sept. 13 with prior verbal permission, per complaint
- Sept. 14 principal message labeled it vandalism, said law enforcement contacted; district later revised policy to ban political/religious messages and on Oct. 11 said it was not vandalism and no police probe occurred
📊 Relevant Data
Ardrey Kell High School has a student body composition of 43.2% White, 30.4% Asian, 11.8% Hispanic, 11.4% African American, 2.7% Multiracial, with a total minority enrollment of 57%.
58% of public K-12 teachers in the US identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, while 35% identify with or lean toward the Republican Party.
Teachers’ views on the state of public K-12 education — Pew Research Center
Student acceptance of using violence to stop a campus speaker has increased to one in three students in 2025, up from one in five in 2020.
Student acceptance of violence in response to speech hits a record high — Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)
Some California teachers faced discipline for social media comments critical of Charlie Kirk, raising concerns about free speech in education.
CA teachers face discipline over comments about Charlie Kirk — CalMatters