Parents of Bay Area high school students taken on a field trip to a mosque are suing over the visit — alleging students were encouraged to wear hijabs and given Qurans.
A group representing two Jewish parents of Palo Alto High School students, three former Jewish students, a Hindu parent and a Zoroastrian parent is suing the school over claims the children were exposed to the idea that Islam was aligned with social justice work.
The group, Community Members for Religious Neutrality in Public Schools, says students in the school’s Social Justice Pathway program took a trip to the mosque last fall and were handed Qurans while female students were encouraged to wear hijabs, the Islamic face covering viewed by some as oppressive to women.
The lawsuit also alleges photos of the students were taken and posted online without parental consent.
Palo Alto Unified School District and Palo Alto High School principal Brent Kline were also named in the lawsuit.
PAUSD Superintendent Jason Glass told the San Francisco Chronicle in a statement that the district only found out about the lawsuit through news coverage and had not been served with any papers. Glass said he had read the complaint, but the district could not verify any allegations
Glass said any religious teachings must be academic and not devotional. Typically, hijabs are only worn by practicing Muslim women and girls. He said the district is reviewing its practices.
The parents are looking for an admission from the school district that it was negligent in supervising students and violated the privacy rights of students and the parents’ right to due process under the law.
The suing parents also alleged the students were “exposed” to Zahra Billoo, the executive director of the Bay Area’s office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. She drew some ire for statements she made in May urging supporters to be more discreet in their hate of Zionists.
“Now imagine your LinkedIn profile says, ‘I hate all Zionists,’” Billoo says in a video clip. “Not strategic. Right? … You may say that sitting around Kahwah House on a Friday night, but you’re not going to say it on your LinkedIn.”
Billoo told the Chronicle the lawsuit was “misguided.”
“Public schools and the government have an obligation to remain neutral toward religion, but what neutrality does not mean is shielding students entirely,” Billoo said. “The job of educators is to teach students, and expose them to different worldviews. That’s what happened here.”
She argued the students’ participation was voluntary and they were taught about Islamic religious practices.
Billoo accused the parents of not wanting their children to learn about others.
“One of the most important ways we combat hate is to learn about each other,” Billoo said. “I am concerned that this group of parents not only wants to counteract that for their own children… but is attempting to intimidate schools and school districts from doing necessary work of educating the next generation.”
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