(NewsNation) — The mother of a North Carolina high school student who was suspended for asking about the term “illegal alien” in class says the punishment could hinder his college prospects if it remains on his record.

Leah McGhee said her 16-year-old son Christian, a 10th grader at Central Davidson High School, was just asking a question when he used the term, which the school allegedly equated “to a vicious racial slur.”

“Christian is raised in a household that instills the beliefs in the following of Jesus Christ. For him, that hurts even more, because he knows in his heart, he has zero racism in his heart,” McGhee said Tuesday on NewsNation’s “On Balance.”

The family represented by the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit against the school district, alleging violations of Christian’s free speech, education and due process rights.

McGhee said she is concerned the three-day suspension could create issues when Christian applies to colleges next year.

“This label that was so unfairly placed on his record is going to hinder him,” she told NewsNation.

Since his return to school after the suspension, McGhee said her son has faced ostracization, bullying and threats.

Concerned for his safety, his parents unenrolled him and he is now completing the semester through a homeschooling program.

School officials refused to hold a “restorative justice” meeting to discuss the incident, as McGhee had requested, according to the family’s attorney, Dean McGee.

“If they are punishing him in the hope of looking progressive, they’ve failed miserably,” McGee said.