On Thursday, Aug. 22, the Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) plans to join the ACLU of Maryland, Howard County for a Free Palestine, Our Revolution HoCo and other organizations at a news conference in Ellicott City, Maryland, seeking accountability for multiple accounts of students who faced censorship and disciplinary consequences in Howard County Public Schools while organizing actions related to Palestine advocacy during the 2023-24 academic year.
The coalition is seeking protections for students exercising their First Amendment right to organize around this cause amidst the ongoing genocide in Gaza during the 2024-25 academic year.
WHAT: Coalition News Conference Seeking Accountability for Student Censorship, Protections in HCPSS
WHEN: Thursday, August 22, 2024, 6 p.m.
WHERE: Outside the Howard County Public School System Central Office, 10910 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21042
CONTACT: CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062; CAIR Maryland Outreach Coordinator Kimberly Syuardi, ksyuardi@cair.com
CAIR will be joining coalition partners and community members to testify during the public comments section of the Board of Education at 7 PM on Aug. 22, to emphasize these demands.
BACKGROUND:
Starting in October 2023, high school administrators in the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) reportedly engaged in a pattern of censorship, discrimination and retaliation against students who advocated and organized walkouts in opposition to the Gaza genocide. In one instance, at River Hill High School, the Muslim Students Association (MSA) faced unreasonable roadblocks and obstacles when attempting to organize a peaceful walkout, despite past walkouts for other causes not being subjected to similar limitations. School officials initially prohibited the walkout and later imposed stringent unconstitutional conditions, forbidding the use of terms such as “Palestine,” “Gaza,” “apartheid,” or “siege,” claiming these terms represented an anti-Israel political stance and were not “inclusive.”
Similarly, at Long Reach High School, a student testified before the Howard County Human Rights Commission in June, revealing that the school’s administration altered the terms of their walkout on the day of the event. They prohibited Palestine related signs and chants, and restricted the number of speakers to one, also refusing to announce the walkout over the school P.A. system.
On June 4, 2024, the ACLU of Maryland filed a demand letter to HCPSS Superintendent William Barnes, citing the censorship at River Hill High School as a violation of students’ First Amendment rights.
As the school system considers its response to the ACLU’s letter, Howard County for a Free Palestine, Our Revolution Howard County, ACLU-MD, and CAIR-MD will be holding a press conference to demand immediate action from HCPSS.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062; CAIR Maryland Outreach Coordinator Kim Syuardi, ksyuardi@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com