A California public high school is facing a lawsuit after students were allegedly handed Qurans and female students were encouraged to wear hijabs during a school-sponsored field trip to a mosque.

The lawsuit was brought by Community Members for Religious Neutrality in Public Schools on behalf of two Jewish parents of Palo Alto High School students, three former Jewish students, a Hindu parent and a Zoroastrian parent.

According to the complaint, students participating in the school’s Social Justice Pathway program visited a mosque last fall, where they were allegedly exposed to messaging connecting Islam with social justice activism.

The lawsuit alleges students were given copies of the Quran and female students were encouraged to wear hijabs during the visit. It further claims photographs of students were taken and posted online without parental consent.

The parents argue the school crossed the line between academic education about religion and participation in religious practices, while failing to adequately protect the rights of students and parents.

Palo Alto Unified School District and Palo Alto High School Principal Brent Kline were named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Superintendent Jason Glass said the district learned of the lawsuit through media reports and had not yet been formally served. He said the district could not verify the allegations contained in the complaint and stressed that religious instruction in district schools must be academic rather than devotional.

The district is now reviewing its practices, while the plaintiffs are seeking an acknowledgment that officials were negligent in supervising students and violated student privacy and parents’ due-process rights.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)