JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — A teenager is suing a Christian school, saying it expelled him because he acknowledged he is gay.

Jeffrey Woodard, 18, and his mother, Carol Gload, are suing Jupiter Christian School in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. They are seeking at least $15,000 damages for alleged breach of contract and want the school to explain why Woodard was expelled.

School administrators denied the lawsuit’s allegations.

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 21, says that Woodard was pulled out of class on Aug. 15 by his Bible teacher, who asked him to tell him his sexual orientation. Woodard said he was gay after the teacher promised the answer would stay confidential.

Two days later, school President Rich Grimm told the teen and his mother that they had learned he was gay and gave the student three options: take counseling to change his sexual orientation, withdraw from school or expulsion, the lawsuit said.

Woodard told Grimm he could not change and did not want to withdraw. In an Aug. 18 letter, Grimm told Gload her son was expelled, but gave no reason.

Grimm said in a statement that the lawsuit’s allegations were false.

“While we cannot discuss all of the claims in the lawsuit, I did want to dispel a critical misrepresentation that appears not only in the lawsuit itself but also in press accounts describing the case,” Grimm said. “Jupiter Christian School officials did not ‘out’ Mr. Woodard nor did we violate any request for confidentiality.

“The bottom line is that this lawsuit is a backdoor attempt at attacking our constitutionally protected rights of religious freedom and free expression,” Grimm said.