The lawsuit against Tennessee Christian Preparatory School ended on June 22, 2026, when a Bradley County Chancery Court judge entered a final judgment requiring the Cleveland, Tennessee private school to pay former student Morgan Armstrong $10,000, rescind her suspension, and refrain from making disparaging remarks about her to colleges or universities. Armstrong, an 18-year-old senior, had sued for breach of contract after being suspended, barred from her graduation, and having her diploma withheld following a social media post in which she came out as gay. The school denied that her sexual orientation drove the discipline and admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.1Chattanooga Times Free Press. Lawsuit Alleging Tennessee Student Suspended From School for Being Gay Resolved
What Triggered the Discipline
In late April 2025, Armstrong posted photos on Instagram and Facebook announcing she was in a relationship with another woman. Her Instagram caption read “cats outta the bag.”2The Hill. Christian School Pays $10K to Student Suspended for Coming Out as Gay In a separate private message to friends, she asked them to comment on the post, writing: “Go and comment on my post. I have some ruthless Trump supporting ‘Jesus’ mfs on there.”3New York Post. Tennessee School Pays Student $10K After Being Blocked From Her Graduation for Coming Out as Gay
Within days, the school’s principal and head of schools met with Armstrong and her family. They presented a printed copy of the social media activity and accused her of remarks that “cast the institution, faculty, staff, alumni, and students in the most negative light.”4WSMV. Tennessee Christian School to Pay $10,000 to Student Banned From Graduation After Coming Out as Gay The school’s Statement of Faith defines marriage as “exclusively the union of one man and one woman.”5Tennessee Christian Preparatory School. Student/Parent Handbook 2024-2025
What the School Did
Administrators suspended Armstrong for the remainder of the school year and barred her from campus, the athletic banquet, the graduation ceremony, and all other school events.6Edge Media Network. Tennessee Christian School to Pay $10,000 Settlement to Gay Student Banned From Graduation According to her lawsuit, the school also threatened to withhold her diploma and to send negative information about her to prospective colleges if she made further public statements about the situation.7NewsChannel 9. Tennessee Christian Preparatory Issues Statement After Lawsuit Settlement With Graduate Armstrong alleged her diploma was withheld for roughly a month after her classmates received theirs.8NewsChannel 9. Grad Continues With Suit Against Cleveland Private School Despite Diploma Delivery Promise
The School’s Position
The school denied that Armstrong’s suspension had anything to do with her coming out. Administrators said the discipline was based on violations of the school’s social media policy, along with preexisting academic and attendance issues, excessive tardiness, and the family’s failure to make required payments under the enrollment agreement.2The Hill. Christian School Pays $10K to Student Suspended for Coming Out as Gay Head of Schools Jared Tilley called the allegations “misleading” and said the school remained “fully committed to delivering Morgan Armstrong’s diploma.”9KSNB Local 4. High Schooler’s Diploma Withheld After Coming Out as Gay on Social Media
Armstrong’s attorney, Robin Flores, countered that her posts were neither vulgar nor disrespectful and did not name the school. He also argued that even if the social media policy had been violated, the school’s own disciplinary handbook called for only a one-day in-school suspension for a first-time social media offense, far less than what Armstrong received.8NewsChannel 9. Grad Continues With Suit Against Cleveland Private School Despite Diploma Delivery Promise
Why It Was a Breach of Contract Case, Not a Discrimination Case
Armstrong and her parents filed suit in Bradley County Chancery Court in May 2025, alleging the school had failed to uphold its contractual obligation to provide educational services in exchange for tuition. The complaint pointed to the suspension, the graduation ban, the withheld diploma, and the threats to damage Armstrong’s college prospects as evidence of breach.8NewsChannel 9. Grad Continues With Suit Against Cleveland Private School Despite Diploma Delivery Promise
The contract framing mattered. Private religious schools in Tennessee are generally permitted to enforce faith-based conduct codes, and federal Title IX includes an exemption for educational institutions controlled by religious organizations when compliance would conflict with religious tenets.10U.S. Department of Education. Title IX Exemptions Tennessee state law does not prohibit private schools from denying admission or disciplining students based on sexual orientation.11Nashville Banner. Tennessee School Vouchers Exclusion By suing for breach of contract, Armstrong’s team sidestepped those religious-liberty defenses and focused on whether the school followed its own rules. Flores anticipated the school’s defense would lean on a broad “catch-all provision” in the handbook’s disciplinary table giving administrators wide discretion. The legal team also considered adding claims of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress based on the threats to contact colleges.8NewsChannel 9. Grad Continues With Suit Against Cleveland Private School Despite Diploma Delivery Promise
The Settlement Terms
After roughly a year of litigation, the final judgment on June 22, 2026 included these terms:
- The school agreed to pay Armstrong $10,000.
- Armstrong’s suspension was officially removed from her record.
- The court permanently prohibited the school from making disparaging remarks about Armstrong to any colleges or universities.
- The school agreed to pay court costs, and each side covered its own attorney fees.
There was no admission of wrongdoing. The final order stated that “the parties disagree on the extent of Morgan Armstrong’s violation of school policies,” and the school continued to deny the suspension was motivated by her sexual orientation.1Chattanooga Times Free Press. Lawsuit Alleging Tennessee Student Suspended From School for Being Gay Resolved In its post-settlement statement, the school said both parties “have mutually agreed to move forward.”7NewsChannel 9. Tennessee Christian Preparatory Issues Statement After Lawsuit Settlement With Graduate
Armstrong spoke publicly after the settlement. “Everyone else gets to post their boyfriend or girlfriend,” she said. “So just because I have a girlfriend and I’m a girl, why does that mean that I shouldn’t be able to? I love my girlfriend and I wanted to show it.” She added that her memories of the school “will just be tainted forever” by the experience.3New York Post. Tennessee School Pays Student $10K After Being Blocked From Her Graduation for Coming Out as Gay
What the Case Does and Doesn’t Settle
Because the case ended in settlement, no court ruled on the merits, and it produced no binding precedent about religious-school discipline. Courts elsewhere have often declined to second-guess the internal disciplinary decisions of religious schools under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, dismissing breach-of-contract suits brought by expelled students and their families.12Telios Law. Yes, Religious Schools Can Apply Their Student Handbooks to Student Discipline Other courts have been willing to intervene where a school made specific contractual promises about procedures and then failed to follow them. Armstrong’s argument that the handbook prescribed only a one-day suspension for a first-time social media violation put her case in that second category. The school never had to defend the argument in court, but both sides chose to resolve the matter rather than take it to trial.