Kentucky school sued for expelling teen after she posed with rainbow cake

On Kayla’s 15th birthday, her mother ordered a cake of “assorted colors,” and the receipt did not state anything regarding the LGBTQ movement or the word “rainbow.”

“It was a happy moment,” Kimberly Alford told WAVE 3. “We were celebrating her 15th birthday. The day God gave me her. Not supporting any sexuality or anything like that.”

After Kayla’s mother posted the photo of her daughter on Facebook, an unknown individual reportedly took a screen shot and sent it to the school.

Whitefield Academy – a Christian school in Louisville – expelled Kayla because on her mother’s private social media page, she appeared in a photo where she appeared gay in the opinion of Whitefield administration,” according to the lawsuit.

 The school said the photo demonstrated “a posture of cultural acceptance contrary to that” of its beliefs, but Kayla’s parents say the school invaded her privacy by outing her. The parents claim in a lawsuit the school did not ask Kayla her sexual orientation prior to the expulsion.

“They made an assumption about a child’s sexual identity based on a birthday cake and a sweatshirt,” the family’s attorney, Georgia Connally, told WDRB. 

“This decision (of stating one’s sexual identity) is one which can ripple, leading to repercussions in untold aspects of someone’s personal, social and family life,” according to the lawsuit filed in Jefferson Circuit Court. “This decision — when, where and how to ‘come out’ — is a profound endeavor that is the sole right of an LGBTQ person. And yet (Kayla), an LGBTQ child, has been denied that right.”

The family is suing the school for breach of contract, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.

Kayla attended Whitefield since sixth grade but now attends a public school, according to NBC News.