‘I don’t negotiate with terrorists’: Muslim student sues US school district over teacher’s remark
A 16-year-old Palestinian-American student has sued a school district in Southern California, alleging that a teacher called him a “terrorist” and school officials failed to take appropriate action over the remark.The lawsuit was filed by Yousef Abdullah against the Anaheim Union High School District over an incident in February 2025, when he was 14 and approached his English teacher after being rejected from the Advanced Placement (AP) English programme at Cypress High School, the New York Post reported.“I don’t negotiate with terrorists, that is, people under the age of 18,” the teacher allegedly told Abdullah, according to the NYP.The student’s attorney, Samer Habbas, said a school counsellor also allegedly repeated the terrorist remark several times, while an assistant principal dismissed it as a phrase or joke.The district’s investigation reportedly found evidence of a derogatory comment that violated its policy against abusive language towards students. In a March 2025 letter, Human Resources Director Amie Maya said the matter would be addressed through the district’s confidential personnel process.However, Habbas alleged that no meaningful disciplinary action followed.The lawsuit also accuses school employees of disclosing Abdullah’s ADHD diagnosis to classmates, who allegedly mocked him using the term “SpEd”.According to the complaint, the alleged treatment left the teenager ashamed of his Palestinian and Muslim identity. He reportedly tried to avoid growing facial hair and being seen in public with his parents.Abdullah has since transferred to another high school in Orange County.“When you’re calling a Palestinian child of Muslim descent a terrorist … it is completely inappropriate, it dehumanizes a kid,” Habbas told the Orange County Register.The case is before Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly A. Knill, who rejected the school district’s attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed.
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