The California Department of Education has found that a worksheet distributed by a public middle school teacher promoted a discriminatory bias against Muslims, reports the Ventura County Star.
The determination overturns a previous decision of the Mesa Union School District, based in Somis, a non-incorporated area just west of Moorpark, California, that the materials that were distributed by the “billionbibles.org” website, which includes information encouraging “stopping the spread of Islam” were not discriminatory.
The case arose when a 12-year-old Muslim student told his parents that the teacher required that students study materials that opposed Islam and that he had spent class-time in the school library because he was not comfortable attending.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) said that the worksheet inaccurately portrayed Islam and Sharia Law, reports the Orange County Register.
Last October, CAIR issued a report that found that Muslim Students in California are bullied at twice the rate of Muslim youths nationally, including bullying by teachers.
The California Department of Education has issued three mandates that the school must comply with by Mid-April 2018, including:
- Offer the student five one-hour sessions of counseling.
- Provide training to all of the school’s social studies teachers that ensures no teacher provides instruction that promotes a discriminatory bias on the basis of religion.
- Conduct activities for students emphasizing tolerance of cultural and religious differences and review of the school’s anti-bullying policy.
In addition to isolating the student, the materials presented likely run afoul of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
