The North Carolina Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the parents of two students, who claimed that their children were expelled from Charlotte Latin Schools for baseless and politically-motivated reasons.According to WSOC-TV, the ruling marks the second time that the appeals court has ruled on the case and upheld lower-court orders of dismissal. The initial lawsuit had centered on allegations that Charlotte Latin gradually adopted a “political culture and curriculum,” refusing to listen to parents’ concerns and then retaliating against their children.The plaintiffs, Doug and Nicole Turpin, first lodged their complaint in April of 2022.“Following the death of George Floyd, a letter was sent to Latin parents, faculty, and staff that plaintiffs felt indicated the school was ‘moving toward a curriculum, culture, and focus associated with a political agenda,’” the lawsuit alleged.The Turpins’ concern continued to grow, prompting them to form a parent-student group called “Refocus Latin.”“During the 2020-2021 school year, plaintiffs and other Latin parents began to discuss their concerns about the communications they had received from the school, as well as changes in curriculum, reading materials, and classroom policies that they felt were ‘indicative of the adoption of a political agenda,’” court documents said.Afterward, during the coronavirus pandemic, the Turpins purportedly complained that their children were being subjected to politicalized speech in the classroom, and that children were prohibited from removing face-masks even when drinking water.Charlotte Latin eventually terminated the Turpins’ contract with the school, effectively expelling their two children.After most of the family’s initial claims against Charlotte Latin were dismissed in October of 2022, they appealed—and were, again, rebuffed. In a 2023 decision, the North Carolina Court of Appeals noted that the school’s enrollment contract mandated a “positive, collaborative working relationship between the school and a student’s parent/guardians.”“Here, the allegations of the complaint make clear that a ‘positive, collaborative working relationship between the School’ and plaintiffs was ‘not capable of being accomplished,’” wrote Appeals Judge Carolyn Thompson. “Indeed, the animosity between plaintiffs and defendants can be observed in just the second paragraph of plaintiffs’ complaint, wherein plaintiffs assert that the school’s actions were an example of ‘what has come to be known in American society as “cancel culture.”’Although the appeals court allowed one of the Turpins’ claims to remain intact, its most recent decision effectively dismembered the family’s lawsuit—finding that, if the Turpins’ case were to proceed, it could endanger the rights of different persons and entities to enforce contractual agreements.“[…] I believe that allowing this case, in its current state, to advance further would severely undermine the fundamental right to freely contract in North Carolina, which is a bedrock principle of North Carolina law,” Judge John Arrowood wrote in his opinion, which concurred with the majority ruling but was published separately.

Scales of Justice. Image via Flickr/user:mikecogh. (CCA-BY-2.0).

The North Carolina Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the parents of two students, who claimed that their children were expelled from Charlotte Latin Schools for baseless and politically-motivated reasons.According to WSOC-TV, the ruling marks the second time that the appeals court has ruled on the case and upheld lower-court orders of dismissal. The initial lawsuit had centered on allegations that Charlotte Latin gradually adopted a “political culture and curriculum,” refusing to listen to parents’ concerns and then retaliating against their children.The plaintiffs, Doug and Nicole Turpin, first lodged their complaint in April of 2022.“Following the death of George Floyd, a letter was sent to Latin parents, faculty, and staff that plaintiffs felt indicated the school was ‘moving toward a curriculum, culture, and focus associated with a political agenda,’” the lawsuit alleged.The Turpins’ concern continued to grow, prompting them to form a parent-student group called “Refocus Latin.”“During the 2020-2021 school year, plaintiffs and other Latin parents began to discuss their concerns about the communications they had received from the school, as well as changes in curriculum, reading materials, and classroom policies that they felt were ‘indicative of the adoption of a political agenda,’” court documents said.Afterward, during the coronavirus pandemic, the Turpins purportedly complained that their children were being subjected to politicalized speech in the classroom, and that children were prohibited from removing face-masks even when drinking water.Charlotte Latin eventually terminated the Turpins’ contract with the school, effectively expelling their two children.After most of the family’s initial claims against Charlotte Latin were dismissed in October of 2022, they appealed—and were, again, rebuffed. In a 2023 decision, the North Carolina Court of Appeals noted that the school’s enrollment contract mandated a “positive, collaborative working relationship between the school and a student’s parent/guardians.”“Here, the allegations of the complaint make clear that a ‘positive, collaborative working relationship between the School’ and plaintiffs was ‘not capable of being accomplished,’” wrote Appeals Judge Carolyn Thompson. “Indeed, the animosity between plaintiffs and defendants can be observed in just the second paragraph of plaintiffs’ complaint, wherein plaintiffs assert that the school’s actions were an example of ‘what has come to be known in American society as “cancel culture.”’Although the appeals court allowed one of the Turpins’ claims to remain intact, its most recent decision effectively dismembered the family’s lawsuit—finding that, if the Turpins’ case were to proceed, it could endanger the rights of different persons and entities to enforce contractual agreements.“[…] I believe that allowing this case, in its current state, to advance further would severely undermine the fundamental right to freely contract in North Carolina, which is a bedrock principle of North Carolina law,” Judge John Arrowood wrote in his opinion, which concurred with the majority ruling but was published separately.

Sources

Appeals Court rules against parents in legal dispute with Charlotte private schoolCharlotte Latin sued by group of parentsNC Court of Appeals upholds dismissal of parents’ lawsuit over private school’s diversity policiesParents argue Charlotte private school ‘hatched a plan’ to expel studentsParents suing Charlotte private school over ‘political’ shift make case to NC Appeals Court