Kentucky Christian Schools Expels Teen For Rainbow Shirt And Cake In Birthday Photo

The Whitfield Academy Christian school in Louisville, Kentucky, expelled a student based on the imagery in a birthday photo posted to social media.

Kayla Alford, 15, was told upon arrival to the school last week that she was no longer a student, based on a Facebook photo of her recent birthday party showing her in a rainbow shirt with a rainbow birthday cake, which the school took as representative of the LGBTQ Pride movement and out of line with the school’s values.

According to Kayla's mother Kimberly Alford, the family attempted to have this decision appealed but was denied by the school. She said her daughter took the move hard, feeling hurt and judged for having been dismissed from a school she had attended since sixth grade.

"When I called the head of the school to discuss it with him, I was quite emotional,” Alford told ABC News. "He told me, 'Kim, the sweater, the cake, it just kind of represents gay pride… when you saw the cake you should have refused it.'"

For her 15th birthday, high school freshman Kayla Kenney went to a restaurant with family and friends. Her mother, Kimberly Alford, recorded a video of her daughter smiling and laughing before blowing out the candles on top of a multicolored cake. https://t.co/YlpHPqrWXB
— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) January 15, 2020

Alford said that her daughter’s shirt and cake were not meant specifically as supportive of gay pride, though she insists that Kayla is supportive and loving of all people.

For their part, Whitfield claims that the expulsion was not merely because of the Facebook post, but also for repeated failure on Kayla’s part to abide by their Code of Conduct. The photo, which ended up share amongst school staff, was merely the last straw for the school. Alford did confirm there were some difficulties, including one where her daughter shaved the sides of her head and was forced to wear her hair down at school.

“Whitefield Academy is a Christian-based school with a 43-year history of educating students in a learning environment informed by our shared Christian values,” Whitfield said in a statement on Tuesday. “All parents who enroll their children in our private school know up front that we ask the students to adhere to a lifestyle informed by our Christian beliefs.”

Kayla Alford has reportedly enrolled at a local public school.