An eighth-grade student at a Massachusetts charter school was recently written up for a uniform violation for wearing a hijab in a situation the school admits it handled poorly.
The girl was sent home from Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden, just north of Boston, along with a copy of a "School Uniform Compliance Form" that she was given by a teacher. One of her family members later posted a photo of the form to social media.
In a post that went viral, Dalia Zeabi wrote that the incident happened on the student's first day wearing a hijab to school. A hijab is a headscarf worn by many Muslim girls and women.
"She gets sent down to the office for not being uniform compliant. She comes home crying and in a horrible emotional state refusing to go to school tomorrow," Zeabi wrote.
Zeabi pointed out that in a description of the uniform infraction, hijab is misspelled as "jihab" on the form.
School Superintendent Alex Dan told the Associated Press that the student received no punishment, and the form that was sent home was intended to spark a discussion with the family about requesting a religious accommodation. However, the superintendent did admit that the incident was handled improperly.
"While we would like to reiterate that the well-respected staff member overseeing the process should bear no responsibility for what has transpired, we understand how our handling of the situation came across as insensitive and look forward to using this moment as a learning opportunity to improve our policies and procedures," Dan said.
In a statement to the AP, the school said it allows students to wear religious attire "as an expression of their sincerely held beliefs," but asks students to provide a letter "expressing this desire from a member of their clergy."
Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, executive director of the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said families should never have to seek accommodations to wear religious attire. The organization's lawyers are looking into the incident.
"We will continue to investigate what happened, review the policies of the school, and research applicable state and federal laws. We will also interview witnesses and listen to our community partners," CAIR-Massachusetts said in a statement. "We are all justifiably concerned about this young student and want to make sure that she is safe, and that her religious rights are respected and protected."
Mayor Gary Christenson said he was saddened to learn about the situation.
"Wearing hijab is a protected right, it is not part of a uniform and should not be looked at as such," he said in a statement. "I have been in contact with our state delegation and together we have reached out to the student's family to offer our support and assistance. I have also spoken with Alex Dan, Director of MVRCS, and George Warren, Chair of the Board, and encouraged them to create a policy that better reflects the open-minded approach we all must commit to and based on those conversations, I am hopeful that there will be a change accordingly in the near future."
The girl has returned to school and is wearing her hijab.
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