(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/23/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, last night held a webinar discussing new documents from within Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), along with two sworn affidavits, which show that the school district has misled families and a federal court about what it is teaching inside English classes, how it plans to treat students who express traditional or religious views, and why it canceled the opt-out option earlier this year.
BACKGROUND:
In response to a new open records request, CAIR has obtained the full version of teacher discussion guides that the MCPS elementary school principals union referenced and expressed concern about in a November 2022 memo.
In the guides CAIR obtained, MCPS makes it clear that English teachers are expected to teach concepts related to gender, family life and relationships, contrary to claims MCPS has made in federal court. Teachers are told to scold, debate or “disrupt the either/or thinking” of only students who express traditional viewpoints or ask critical questions about those topics.
CAIR is also releasing two sworn affidavits and over 100 pages of internal MCPS emails which contradict the school district’s recent claim to a federal court that it canceled the opt-out option earlier this year because too many students opted out.
SEE: MCPS Document: Teacher Responses to Possible Student Questions
SEE: MCPS Document: Teacher Responses to Possible Questions from Parents, Community Members
SEE: Montgomery Muslim Council’s Affidavit
SEE: CAIR’s Affidavit
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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 Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, 410-971-6062, zchaudry@cair.com; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@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