NC Supreme Court Revives Case After Parents Challenged Woke Insanity, Kids Expelled: AM Update 9/7

0:00Hey, Chicagoland, the Wayfair store is in your neighborhood at Edens Plaza and Wilmette. Finally, you can feel the fabric, sit on the sectionals, and even open the refrigerators. Plus, our in-store designers will help you bring it all together with free one-on-one design support for any project on any budget. Yep, we said free. Oh, and did we mention the cafe? So what are you waiting for? Come see all that's in store. Visit the Wayfair store today at Edens Plaza and Wilmette. Wayfair, every style, every home. Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. Happy Labor Day. It's Monday, September 7th, 2026, and this is your AM Update.

0:40They wanted to, in secret, turn it into basically a woke indoctrination center that went and repudiated everything that the school had ever stood for. Two children abruptly expelled from their school after their parents questioned its radical new direction. The family now getting another chance to hold the school accountable. Coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

1:08We are still a couple months out, but the midterms are fast approaching. And make no mistake, if the house flips, it is a big deal for our economy. That uncertainty is one of the many reasons to consider diversifying with gold from Birch Gold Group. In the three months leading up to the 2024 presidential election, the price of gold jumped over 12%. Why? Because it's a hedge against uncertainty, of course. If you don't own gold, consider talking to Birch Gold. They're gonna discuss your goals and explain how precious metals can fit into your savings. They can even help you convert an existing IRA or 401k in whole or in part into an IRA in gold for no additional money out of pocket.

1:51Just text the letters MK to the number 989898 and get a free info kit and some solid information. The midterms will be here before you know it. Don't wait. Text MK to 989898. A North Carolina family gets another chance to seek justice nearly five years after a prestigious private school expelled their two children, allegedly retaliating after the parents challenged its sudden embrace of left-wing ideology. Doug and Nicole Turpin accusing Charlotte Latin School of abandoning its traditional apolitical approach to education amid the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter insanity of 2020, then punishing their innocent children when they, as parents, spoke up.

2:37The family's lawsuit initially running into a series of legal setbacks. A trial court dismissing eight of the Turpin's nine claims, prompting the family to voluntarily drop the remaining claim without prejudice and pursue an appeal. The North Carolina Court of Appeals later upholding those dismissals. The North Carolina Supreme Court last month reviving parts of the couple's lawsuit, finding they adequately pleaded several claims previously dismissed by lower courts. The 5-2 ruling not deciding whether the Turpin's allegations are true, but allowing their legal fight to go forward. The family's son and daughter attending Charlotte Latin from the time they were very young until their abrupt expulsion at ages 11 and 13.

3:20Charlotte Latin undergoing a leadership change in July 2019 when Chuck Baldecki took over as headmaster. Doug Turpin telling AM Update that parents began encountering deeply troubling changes the following school year, including material they never imagined their children would see at Charlotte Latin. When the new headmaster came in, Chuck Baldecky, they decided they wanted to go into a fundamentally different direction without telling anybody. They wanted to, in secret, turn it into basically a woke indoctrination center that went and repudiated everything that the school had ever stood for. So in our mind, it was kind of like education fraud.

4:08So when we started seeing things like a picture of Jesus with his throat cut and black blood pooling down his shirt with the words, God is dead, hung up his artwork in the hallway for the young kids to see. Or a picture of a police officer with a pig basically representing him in a police officer's uniform with all cops are bastards. or there was a gay sex manual with explicit images all the way through it of how to have gay sex, but in the young children's section of the library. We were all just shocked and horrified. According to the family's complaint, Charlotte Latton declaring itself, quote, an anti-racist academic institution in June 2020 and pledging to make diversity, equity, and inclusion, policies which in fact divide and assign value to children according to a racial hierarchy foundational to the school's broader long-term direction.

5:06Nicole Turpin describing how the school's new direction made a place their family once loved feel increasingly unrecognizable. Charlotte Lanson was the very first school that we ever went to. My whole life was going from our house to Charlotte Latin, you know, volunteering, talking to the teachers. It was just a very nurturing environment that our children grew up in. So this is when the old headmaster was there. But when the new headmaster came, everything changed. It just became colder and parents weren't invited in because it was when the pandemic was going on. But up until that point, it was really our second home and we absolutely loved it and had a fantastic experience.

5:56The Turpins, far from the only parents, alarmed by the school's new direction. Doug saying families were not initially demanding a particular outcome. They were seeking honest answers about what Charlotte Latton intended to teach their children. This was going on with parents all over the place and there was an uproar. All we wanted to do was have dialogue and ask questions about what do you intend to teach our children? What are you doing? How are things changing? So Refocus Latin was our parent group, and there were dozens and dozens of parents, and it was growing all the time organically. It just sprung up because we were all so concerned and we were being gaslit.

6:37So what we wanted to do was have dialogue and just get a basic question an answer. You're changing the fundamental character of this school. How are you planning on doing it? What are you teaching our children? The group Refocus Latin eventually requesting an opportunity to present its concerns directly to the school's board. Some parents reportedly warning board chair Denny O 'Leary that they feared retaliation against their families. Doug describing how the Refocus Latin parents were brought into that meeting on August 24, 2021 and what he says happened when they asked the school for answers.

7:15The board invited us to come into a meeting and explain our concerns. They promised us there'd be no retaliation allowed. And so we did that at their request. We went in there and showed them a presentation that's on the honoraboveall.org website that outlined all of these horrifying things that we were seeing and hearing and just ask them to tell us, what do you guys intend to do? And they basically said, thank you for sharing. We're not going to answer any of your questions. At the end of the meeting, O 'Leary reportedly telling the group neither the board nor administrators would continue the dialogue.

7:59Head of school Chuck Baldecky later allegedly instructing teachers and staff not to engage with parents about the dispute, telling them to refer any questions directly to him. Less than two weeks after the board meeting, the Turpins noticing what they believed was a troubling change in the way their sixth grade son was being treated in one of his classes. Nicole and Doug on what their son, an 11-year-old boy, began telling them at home. His issues were that he wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom when he would ask, or he wasn't allowed to drink water. It just sounded very targeted. And also he came home one day and said that all Republicans are white supremacists.

8:43And just out of the blue, and I'm like, Logan, what do you mean? I mean, this is what he's hearing from the teacher in the school. So I was really shocked. He said, Dad, you know, is there something wrong with me because I'm white? And I was like, why are you saying this? And he started talking about how this teacher was making him feel that there was something fundamentally wrong with him because he was white and that we were bad. And, you know, if you're Republicans, are you white supremacist? Can you hear your son being tortured? Essentially, it felt like us. It's like, gosh, this is awful.

9:25The parents taking their concerns to head of the middle school, Todd Balaban, requesting that their son be moved to a different class. Balaban initially saying he would need a day or two to investigate, then reportedly emailing Doug roughly one hour later that he had already examined the matter, quote, in depth. Balaban and the head of school scheduling an in-person meeting with Doug for September 10th, which Doug believed would address his concerns about the classroom. So I went into that meeting thinking, well, I'm going to have a conversation with him about what my son's concerns are. That's what they said to do in the parent school contract.

10:04And that's what we were always told to do. And I didn't know it was a secret expulsion meeting that the headmaster was going to pull out our kids enrollment agreement, wave it in my face and tell me that we were plotting against the school. and that he was expelling our two kids this day, that instant. Neither child was accused of doing anything wrong. The Turpin's 11-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter reportedly given only hours to clean out their lockers and leave the school they had attended nearly their entire lives. Nicole describing the toll the sudden upheaval took on both kids. I can remember that morning like it was yesterday.

10:48um Doug called me and he said Nikki you need to come down to the school right now our children have been expelled and we need to get them immediately so of course I'm in complete shock our children were being asked to empty their lockers without any explanation and they were led outside by a security guard who didn't speak to them and they were just standing there with bewildered looks on their faces while we drove up. They get in the car and they spent the whole way home going, Mom, what's going on? I mean, have we done something wrong? Have we done something wrong? And we had to tell them when we got home that the only school they'd ever known, they were not welcome back into it.

11:34They were not allowed back into it. And all we could do was watch them break down sobbing and we were just helpless. The Turpins, insisting they followed the school's own process, raised their concerns civilly, and relied on an explicit promise that speaking up would not be used against their children. The family filing a lawsuit in 2022, determined to clear their own name and to hold the school accountable. It was important to go ahead and send a message to the schools that your contracts and your representations and your promises mean something. You can't just expel parents just because they're asking questions, if you can, then think about what that would mean.

12:17If somebody is abusing a child or harming a child or just mistreating them, if a parent has to worry that they're going to have their children expelled just because they want to ask the school about that or ask them a question about what they're being taught or raise any kind of concern, we felt like it was important to take a stand. We were fortunate enough to be able to do it. And if we succeeded, that this would deter other schools from behaving this way. The case suffering years of legal setbacks before last month's major reversal. Coming up, why this family's legal fight could protect other parents from seeing their children punished when parents speak up.

13:04And what happens next in the Turpin's case.

13:14Imagine this. You are surrounded by fellow fans, sharing wings, sharing drinks, high-fiving random strangers. Everyone remembers the game. No one remembers the guy coughing behind you until a few days later at 2 a.m. you wake up with a fever and your throat is on fire. Now what? Urgent care? Closed. ER? Forget it. Telehealth? Maybe, but the pharmacy's closed. This is where a medical emergency kit from the wellness company could come in. These are not first aid kits. These contain essential prescriptions used for over 30 common conditions, sinus and ear infections, UTIs, stomach bugs, traveler's diarrhea, and more, on hand before you need them.

13:56Use your doctor-developed guidebook to select the right prescription or call their telemed doctor standing by. It's like an urgent care and drugstore at home. When you are sick, traveling, or stranded, you will wish that you had ordered a medical emergency kit. Order online in minutes and it's shipped right to your door. And save 45 bucks with my promo code MK at urgentcarekit.com slash MK. That's urgentcarekit.com slash MK, promo code MK, urgentcarekit.com slash MK. For nearly five years, Doug and Nicole Turpin fighting to get their case against Charlotte Latin School into a courtroom. Lower courts dismissing most of their claims, finding the Turpins did not properly stake claims upon which relief could be granted.

14:42The North Carolina Supreme Court now ruling 5-2 that those courts wrongly decided the case on several of the claims. The majority finding the Turpins did provide enough information for Charlotte Latin to understand the accusations against it, allowing several of the family's causes of action to move forward. The ruling not deciding who is right on the merits, but finally giving the Turpins an opportunity to prove their case. The Turpins attorney, Jonathan Vogel, telling AM Update the family can now pursue three central allegations. First, that Charlotte Latin breached its enrollment contract by expelling the children for a reason the agreement did not permit.

15:18Second, that school leaders deceived the parents by promising they could raise concerns without retaliation, then allegedly disguising an expulsion meeting as a discussion about their son. The court also allowing the Turpins to pursue claims that school officials defamed them during and after the expulsions. The breach of contract fight centering on Charlotte Lattin's claim that its relationship with the family had become impossible. The Turpins arguing that explanation was merely a pretext for retaliation. Vogel explaining why he believes the school's own actions undermine its stated reason for expelling the children.

15:56If the expulsions were really because Charlottesville believed that the relationship with the Turpins was impossible, really, you know, sending an email or two expressing concerns and asking questions about curriculum and culture, being part of a group that, upon invitation from the Board of Trustees, made a presentation about their questions and concerns, if that really was enough to make the relationship impossible, then the school would have expelled all the children of the parents who were involved in making that presentation, and they would have expelled all the children of the parents over the years that have expressed concerns or have asked questions of a teacher about the curriculum or anything else in the school.

16:41Vogel telling us the family can now begin investigating what was happening behind the scenes. We think, frankly, now that we're back in the trial court, we're going to be able to take discovery and get internal documents such as emails, text messages, calendar entries, and take depositions to obtain direct evidence and potential smoking guns of the protectionist reason. Vogel explaining where the case goes from here. What happens next is the Supreme Court's decision and mandate makes its way down to the trial court via the Court of Appeals. And at the trial court, we begin again. This case had hardly started at the time that it was dismissed by the trial court four years ago.

17:27So we are ready to really get into this case and get into the process of discovery, which enables us to ask questions of the defendants and obtain internal documents and take the deposition, sworn deposition of all of these people. And I'm talking about the head of school, Chuck Baldecki. I'm talking about the head of the middle school, Todd Balaban, the 20 some odd members of the board of trustees and get at the information and get at the facts that they've been keeping from us for the last four years while we've been up in the appellate courts. Charlotte Latton arguing before the North Carolina Supreme Court that a Turpin victory could weaken the independence private schools need to provide the quality of education expected by families.

18:14The school warning it could also invite lawsuits whenever administrators decide their relationship with a family is no longer workable. Vogel rejecting that characterization. This lawsuit was never about and is still not about dictating what a private school must do with respect to its curriculum and culture. There is no legal claim that challenges their curriculum or that challenges their culture as, you know, as concerning, let's say it was, with the artwork and the books and the various gender ideology things and lessons, as concerning as that is. There are no legal claims challenging that.

18:56If a private school wants to teach that way and wants to have that kind of artwork, that's their choice to do. Nothing challenges the autonomy of a school. Instead, the only claims in this case relate to how the school acted with respect to the parents and the children in ignoring the provisions of its own contract, honoring its own contract with its parents, and treating its parents with respect. The Turpins, who now have their children at other schools, tell us what this ruling means to them and what comes next. It just means so much. It's five years and a lot of time and money there. And we were determined to be able to protect and do our part to protect the families here of North Carolina and strike a blow against this type of mentality that these private schools have.

19:55that they can just basically expel your children for any reason at any time, if they just want to, while they're enforcing ideological conformity in secret. We felt this put kids in dangerous scenarios, where if their families couldn't even ask about what was going on, what might happen? It was another kind of a victory for us to be able to say, hey, people, speak up. We reached out to Charlotte Lattin, its current head of school, Chuck Baldecky, its former middle school head, Todd Balaban, and former board chair, Denny O 'Leary, for comment and did not receive any response. And that'll do it for your AM Update.

20:41I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for a brand new MK show today on Labor Day with Andrew Huberman. Live on SiriusXM's The Megan Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megan kelly and on all podcast platforms

21:01real talent is defined by what people can do not where they learn to do it so by stopping at the education section of a resume you might throw away the perfect hire skills first hiring helps you see talent others miss like more than 70 million stars skilled through alternative routes Let their story unfold and gain a competitive advantage because hiring managers who start with skills are 60 % more likely to find a successful hire. Hire skills first. Learn why at tearthepaperceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council.