Female students encouraged to wear hijabs as part of a "Social Justice" program

Parents and students, including two Jewish parents and three former Jewish students, filed a lawsuit against the school district and Palo Alto High School in California, following a tour of a mosque where they claim students were handed copies of the Quran and female students were encouraged to wear hijabs.

The tour took place last autumn as part of the school's "Social Justice" program. The lawsuit alleges that students were exposed to religious content that crossed the line between academic study and religious activity, and that Islam was presented to them as a religion identified with social justice values. It is further alleged that photos of the students were published online without their parents' consent.

One of the central points in the lawsuit is the students' exposure to Zahra Billoo, director of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Islamic organization CAIR, who has previously spoken harshly against Jews. In May, Billoo was recorded advising her supporters not to post statements like "I hate all Zionists" on professional networks because it is "not strategic."

Billoo rejected the claims and called the lawsuit "misguided." According to her, the students' participation was voluntary and the purpose of the tour was to expose them to different religions and worldviews. On the other hand, the parents are demanding that the school district acknowledge that it failed to supervise the students and violated their rights and privacy.

School district superintendent Jason Glass stated that the district has not yet officially received the lawsuit and therefore cannot verify the claims. However, he emphasized that religious instruction in public schools must be "academic and not devotional," and announced that the district is reviewing its procedures following the incident.