(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/8/2022) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced the filing of a civil rights complaint against Baltimore’s Academy for College & Career Exploration for an alleged assault and bullying of Afghan children by staff and students.
The filing of the complaint comes two months after a violent attack against an Afghan Muslim student, during which a school employee allegedly locked the student inside a bathroom as others brutally attacked her and forcibly removed her hijab and attempted to choke her with it. The employee reportedly involved in the incident has since been terminated from the school system. CAIR filed the complaint with the federal government’s Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education.
[The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has enforcement authority under Title VI, which prohibits schools, like those in the Baltimore city school district, that receive federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race and ethnicity, among other protected characteristics.]
SEE: Letter re Office of Civil Rights Complaint
SEE: Staff Member Fired for Involvement in Attack on Muslim Student at Baltimore School
As the complaint outlines, school officials have not successfully prevented further incidents of bullying—both by staff and students:
[T]he kids were tripped, pushed, have had food thrown at them, been taunted about their English language skills, and school security searched [the student previously attacked and locked, by a school employee, in the bathroom while she was being attacked]—we believe illegally—for using the restroom made available to her so she could avoid being attacked again.
Because of the ongoing incidents, the family pulled their children from school earlier last week and now seek a transfer to a different school. Only one of the four children has been transferred thus far.
“After exhausting efforts at the local level to secure a safe, inclusive learning environment for these children, and failed attempts by family advocates to resolve the matter with school administrators and community stakeholders, our organization is taking additional steps to seek constructive action, justice and accountability,” said CAIR’s Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry. “Ms. Sonja Santalises, CEO of the Baltimore City Public Schools, and the school system must take action to provide this family with solutions that address the core concerns of safety and well-being.”
“We have given Baltimore City Public Schools a chance to do right by this family, and they have not,” said CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas. “The Department of Education should now investigate the circumstances behind the violent attack on September 16, and the role the fired school employee played in it.”
In October, CAIR condemned the targeting of the Afghan students and welcomed the school system’s initial response to its calls for an investigation into the incidents, restorative and disciplinary action, and systemic policy changes.
SEE: BREAKING: CAIR Condemns Anti-Hijab Assaults on Afghan Muslim Students, Welcomes Baltimore School’s Response
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR Office in Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com