A group of multi-faith parents has filed a joint lawsuit against the Palo Alto Unified School District and Palo Alto High School's principal, alleging that students were encouraged to wear Muslim religious attire and were provided with Qurans during a field trip to a mosque last year. The lawsuit, filed on August 7, states that as part of the school's Social Justice Pathway curriculum, students on the tour hosted by the Muslim Community Association participated in religious activities and were allegedly encouraged to don religious garb without parental consent.
According to the complaint, female students were provided with hijabs to wear, and all students were gifted Qurans to take home. The field trip activities also reportedly included observing a Dhuhr prayer, discussing the meaning of worship, and engaging with participants in the Noor Hifz Academy, the host institution’s religious youth program. The parents, who are Jewish, Hindu, and Zoroastrian, also claim that students spoke with Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who has faced controversy for allegedly antisemitic statements.
David Rosenberg-Wohl, representing the parents, stated that the core issue is a public school promoting Islam within its Social Justice Pathway curriculum. He argued that presenting Islam as the faith for those interested in social justice is not the role of a public school and violates the separation of church and state.
The Muslim Community Association expressed concern over the lawsuit, stating that treating students' exposure to Muslim faith and practice as inherently coercive risks reinforcing Islamophobia and misunderstanding. Palo Alto Unified Superintendent Jason Glass confirmed he is reviewing the allegations but declined to comment further on the pending litigation.
Some students, however, have disputed the claims. Juni Thurston, editor-in-chief of the student newspaper "The Paly Voice," wrote in an op-ed that the narrative of teachers indoctrinating students into Islam is foreign to her experience. Thurston acknowledged concerns about Billoo's presence on the field trip, noting that her role was limited and that she should not have been part of the experience.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) commented that if students were compelled to wear religious garb, it would violate the First Amendment. FIRE Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Adam Goldstein said that just as public schools cannot force students to pledge allegiance to the flag, they cannot compel them to wear religious attire as part of a curricular field trip.