US school writes up student for wearing hijab
A school in the US wrote up an 8th grader for wearing a hijab.
The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School, in Massachusetts later said it understands its “handling of the situation came across as insensitive.”
A family member of the student posted a picture on social media of the “School Uniform Compliance Form” the student received from a teacher for the hijab. In the description – the headscarf worn by Muslim women was misspelt as “jihab.”
The school said in a statement that 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.”
The School Superintendent Alex Dan said the form sent home was meant to start the conversation with the daily about obtaining religious accommodation, but Dan acknowledged the situation was mishandled.
“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”
The school’s statement.
The Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says its lawyers are representing the student’s family and are investigating the situation. The student is now wearing a hijab at school, the group said.