A Tennessee Christian school has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a former student, bringing to a close a case that has drawn national attention and renewed debate over the rights of private religious schools to enforce faith-based standards.
Under the settlement, Tennessee Christian Preparatory School will pay former student Morgan Armstrong $10,000 and remove a suspension from her school record. The agreement resolves the legal dispute without either side obtaining a court ruling on the underlying claims.
The controversy began in the spring of 2025 after Armstrong, then a graduating senior, shared an Instagram post announcing she was in a same-sex relationship. The post included photos of the couple together and the caption, “cats outta the bag.”
Within days, Armstrong alleged she was suspended and barred from participating in graduation ceremonies and other school activities because of the social media post. She later filed suit, arguing the disciplinary action amounted to discrimination based on her sexual orientation.
The lawsuit also claimed school officials threatened to withhold her diploma and make negative statements to prospective colleges if criticism of the school appeared online.
The school disputed those allegations from the outset.
Rather than arguing the case centered on Armstrong’s sexual orientation, Tennessee Christian Preparatory School maintained that disciplinary action resulted from multiple violations of school policies, including attendance issues, repeated tardiness, academic concerns and unpaid financial obligations under the family’s enrollment agreement.
In a statement released after the settlement, the school emphasized that the factual disagreements remain unresolved.
“Tennessee Christian and the Armstrong family disagree regarding the extent to which Morgan Armstrong violated school policies. Both parties acknowledge that this disagreement remains unresolved and have mutually agreed to move forward. No further comments will be made regarding this matter.”
Because the case ended in a negotiated settlement, neither side admitted wrongdoing, and the agreement does not establish legal precedent regarding the claims raised in the lawsuit.
Armstrong’s attorney, Daniel Horwitz, welcomed the outcome.
“School is a place where every student is entitled to feel welcome, accepted, and supported.”
He added:
“It is not a place where any administrator should feel comfortable disciplining or threatening kids for being gay. We were proud to represent Morgan and her family in this righteous lawsuit, and we are thrilled to have prevailed on their behalf. We hope Morgan’s bravery will inspire others to stand up for themselves the way that she did.”
Armstrong has consistently defended her decision to make her relationship public. Speaking previously about the Instagram post, she said:
“Everyone else gets to post their boyfriend or girlfriend. So just because I have a girlfriend and I’m a girl, why does that mean that I shouldn’t be able to?”
Private religious schools generally enjoy greater constitutional protections than public schools when it comes to establishing codes of conduct and requiring students to abide by religious beliefs as a condition of enrollment. At the same time, students may challenge disciplinary decisions they believe violate contracts, state law or other legal protections. Courts have often been asked to balance religious liberty with individual rights, and outcomes frequently depend on the specific facts and contractual agreements involved.
This settlement leaves many of those larger questions unanswered. Instead, both parties chose to avoid a lengthy court fight and resolve the matter privately. While Armstrong received financial compensation and had her suspension rescinded, the school continued to stand by its position that the disciplinary issues extended beyond a single social media post.
