In the wake of Lipscomb Academy’s admission that it initially prohibited students from wearing suit jackets and ties to mourn the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) spokesperson and conservative influencer Savannah Chrisley told The Tennessee Star on Tuesday that she was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) prior to meeting with Lipscomb University President Dr. Candice McQueen and Lipscomb Academy Head of School Dr. Brad Schultz.
The meeting was held on October 2, just days after Chrisley sent an email to administrators at both Lipscomb Academy and Lipscomb University, which owns the private K-12 Christian school. The academy operates as part of the university’s legal entity, and both share campus facilities and branding.
Chrisley, whose family member is enrolled as a student at Lipscomb Academy, provided The Star with her September 27 email, revealing that she expressed concerns about the academy’s shifting statements regarding whether it prohibited students from mourning Kirk on campus. She urged the administrators to, “restore confidence that [Lipscomb Academy] remains committed to both the mission of Christ and the freedoms our Constitution guarantees.”
Five days later, Chrisley told The Star that she and a Lipscomb Academy parent anticipated meeting with McQueen and Schultz regarding the school’s response to Kirk’s assassination, but instead were greeted by Schultz and an attorney representing Lipscomb University, who presented the NDA for both Chrisley and the parent to sign.
The legal document requested Chrisley and the parent to confirm they met with the administrators in their role as family members, “and not as a social media influencer,” and forbade either from posting, “anything on social media regarding the content of [their] meeting with the Lipscomb Academy administration, or the signing of this acknowledgement,” in addition to reaffirming their commitment to abide by the terms for dispute resolution written in the school handbook.
Neither Chrisley nor the parent signed the NDA, and told The Star that they were not informed an attorney would be present for the meeting.
After Chrisley and the parent declined to sign, they told The Star that both Schultz and the attorney briefly left the meeting before returning with the news that McQueen would nonetheless meet with them that day.
“I think they realized, ‘We’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t,” said Chrisley. She told The Star, “if the world saw this form, they would take it exactly as I have—as you are trying to silence me.”
During the meeting, Chrisley told The Star that McQueen ultimately attended the meeting, and repeatedly expressed that she was unaware of certain allegations, relying on Schultz to confirm or dispute their accuracy, before ultimately asking Chrisley and the Lipscomb Academy parent to give the administrators time to work with the faculty to resolve their concerns.
Reached for comment by The Star, a spokesman for Lipscom Academy appeared to confirm the request for Chrisley and the parent to sign the NDAs.
“As part of our community standards, we ask that parents and administrators have the ability to have candid conversations about our internal community without these conversations being posted for external purposes,” said the spokesman.
Chrisley told The Star that the meeting was called after faculty members responded to the recent reassignment of former Head of School Dr. Jesse Savage, who originally prohibited students from wearing jackets and ties to mourn Kirk’s assassination on September 11, by staging two separate protests.
According to Chrisley, the first protest saw faculty members wear black clothing, as though in mourning, to express solidarity with Savage on September 25.
Chrisley provided multiple photographs to The Star that appear to confirm this occurred, including one photo that purportedly depicts the classroom of a Lipscomb Academy Bible instructor, who refused to instruct students while participating in the September 25 protest.
“I’m not teaching today,” the instructor informed students using an overhead projector, according to a photo.
Instead of normal classroom instruction, the teacher reportedly launched into a political lecture.
According to a Lipscomb Academy parent, the teacher, “went on a rant about how the left isn’t evil, the right isn’t evil, LGBTQ isn’t evil, and made them sit in silence the entire class while he cried. Literally cried at his desk.”
The Lipscomb University spokesman told The Star when asked whether Lipscomb University or Lipscomb Academy have policies related to Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Critical Race Theory, or LGBTQ education, “Both Lipscomb University and Lipscomb Academy are fully compliant with all Department of Education and Department of Justice guidance on matters related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Please refer to our Heritage Statement on the university’s website for our position on marriage.”
According to the Lipscomb University Heritage Statement, the university views marriage as, “a covenant between one man and one woman.”
The second protest occurred on September 26, when Chrisley and the parent told The Star that multiple faculty members and an unknown number of students stood outside the building at 7 a.m. to express solidarity with Savage.
Chrisley sent a screenshot to The Star that purportedly shows at least one faculty member inviting students to participate in this protest.
“If you feel called, please join us tomorrow at 7am, as we gather on the steps of Harding Hall,” the faculty member reportedly wrote. “You are all invited to stand with Dr. Savage!”
According to an email obtained by The Star, Lipscomb Academy informed parents and community members of the protest the following Monday, when it revealed that administrators heard a “rumor” of the protest the previous night, leading the school to enlist officers with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) to provide security that morning.
“Lipscomb Academy became aware of a rumor about a possible peaceful demonstration on campus,” the administrators informed parents and legal guardians in the email. “Out of an abundance of caution, Lipscomb Security requested the presence of Metro Police as a precautionary measure on campus.”
The email claimed “approximately two dozen” individuals participated in this protest.
Chrisley told The Star that administrators failed to share the anticipated police presence ahead of the protest, and said the six police officers on campus alarmed members of the Lipscomb Academy community who previously had students enrolled at the Covenant School, where a transgender mass shooter killed six in 2023.
“You had a handful of parents that pulled up to drop their kids off at school and had come to Lipscomb from Covenant,” said Chrisley. “So they were in full-on panic attacks in the parking lot, not knowing what was going on.”
Both the Lipscomb Academy parent and Chrisley told The Star that the administrators have given the impression they are more interested in meeting the political expectations of faculty members than students, which has resulted in students feeling uncomfortable about approaching faculty for guidance.
“I would say 90 percent of the teachers in the senior class are liberal,” said the parent. “You have the senior class who feel like they don’t have a support system. They don’t feel comfortable going to talk to their teachers.”
The parent told The Star, “Children are having full-blown anxiety attacks and panic attacks. Going to the bathroom and [saying], ‘I can’t do this. Can I please come home? Can I please come home?’ It’s so sad.”
The protests occurred just prior to the September 29 statement by TPUSA spokesman and “Charlie Kirk Show” producer Andrew Kolvet, who urged Lipscomb to “set things right” after Savage was reassigned.
“This is not my school, nor am I directly associated with it. But given the overwhelming response I’ve received from people who are, I highly doubt this will satisfy those who are upset about this,” Kolvet told The Star. “They tell me the school is riddled with ideologues that are hostile to the Christian values held by the vast majority of the families that make up this community. This is a time to set things right with clear action.”
Chrisley told The Star that Lipscomb Academy held a chapel service to mark Kirk’s assassination on Tuesday, but received criticism for requiring students to approve their remarks with faculty prior to the event.
Also on Tuesday, Kirk was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously by President Donald Trump.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Lipscomb Academy Students” by Savannah Chrisley.
I am saddened by this ordeal. I have 2 children who graduated from Lipscomb 20 plus years ago. This is not ok. These students were honoring a good man in Kirk. Let them. You cannot sweep this discourse under the rug. It affects christian institutions. What you did was not smart. You made the Church look awful. Thank you for any positive mitigation going forward.
Sounds as if Lipscomb should NOT call itself a Christian Academy any further.
Sorry. NDAs only remove accountability. Pound sand.
Looks like one cannot have a Christian school without progressive teachers worming their way on to the faculty and ultimately running the school.