Teacher, CAIR file discrimination complaint against Anne Arundel County schools
BALTIMORE -- A Maryland teacher has filed a discrimination complaint against Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
A special education and math high school teacher says she's been under investigation by the county school district since November for 'replying all' to an email about the Israel-Gaza curriculum.
"AACPS has singled me out among my colleagues," teacher Saera Suhail said.
Suhail, a teacher at North County High School, sent an email to colleagues on November 6 calling to be "mindful" of the "rhetoric used" in teaching about the events in Israel and Gaza.
"You have a moral obligation to speak up in the face of injustice," Suhail said.
Suhail says she felt compelled to send the message to the "staff listserv" even after an administrator failed to approve it, in response to an email from a colleague about teaching resources as the conflict intensified.
Suhail called the email and the resources "biased."
"We were expected to use these resources to educate our students about the crisis in Gaza," Suhail said.
Suhail and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Thursday filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Anne Arundel County Public Schools for punishing an employee for speaking up.
"It's not just disturbing and immoral, but it's also clear religious discrimination," said CAIR attorney Rawda Fawaz.
The resources were links to education platforms Discovery Education and Newsela.
Anne Arundel County schools would not comment on the complaint itself, but said, "Anne Arundel County Public Schools utilizes a rigorous materials of instruction evaluation process in which standardized criteria are used by committees to review and determine approval for all materials prior to classroom use. The Office of Social Studies responds to current events by curating relevant materials from approved sources in order to provide teachers with resources for equitable instructional implementation."
Suhail says she was speaking up for her fellow staff and students of color.
"Amplifying the voices of any oppressed group is not only your right, but a cause to wear with a badge of honor," Suhail said.
CAIR attorneys hope that bringing this discrimination complaint, ends the school district's investigation and prevents what they call "flimsy excuses to discriminate against teachers."