A Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) teacher has filed a lawsuit against the county school board after the principal of her Silver Spring middle school allegedly prevented her from displaying the Palestinian flag in her classroom, according to a recent statement from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
CAIR, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., is representing Hibah Sayed, a teacher at Sligo Middle School and sponsor of the school’s Minority Scholars Program, in the case. The suit, filed June 18 in the U.S. District Court of Maryland, alleges Sligo Middle School Principal Peter Crable, and the school’s rules violated Sayed’s First Amendment rights by prohibiting her from displaying a Palestinian flag sticker.
CAIR lawyers are asking the court to file an injunction to prevent MCPS and the school board from prohibiting Sayed from displaying any Palestine-related messages, according to the complaint.
MCPS spokesperson Liliana López and Christie Scott, coordinator of school board communications, said Thursday MCPS and the board can’t comment on ongoing litigation.
CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry didn’t immediately respond Thursday to email and phone call requests for comment.
This isn’t the first case against MCPS related to teachers’ pro-Palestinian views and free speech. In February 2024, CAIR filed a lawsuit challenging the administrative leave and investigation of three teachers who shared pro-Palestinian views on social media and in email signatures. According to online court records, the case is ongoing.
According to CAIR’s complaint, Sayed displayed a variety of stickers portraying flags, which included the Palestinian flag, on the inside of her classroom door for more than a year. Sayed also wore a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian scarf, and a shirt in remembrance of Reem Nabhan, a 3-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in 2023, several times without incident, according to the complaint.
Shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, a student’s parent complained about the flag sticker, but the school administration told the family it didn’t violate any school rules and wouldn’t require that it be removed. The student wasn’t in Sayed’s class, but would see the flag when passing her classroom, according to the complaint.
A year later, on Oct. 8, 2024, Sayed said the Palestinian flag sticker was removed from her door without her consent, according to the complaint.
“Ms. Sayed expected to be helped regarding the stolen flag but was shocked to learn that she, instead, was being punished,” the complaint said. “Principal Crable informed Ms. Sayed that she would not be allowed to put the Palestinian flag sticker back on her classroom door.”
According to the complaint, Crable also told Sayed that she had to remove her keffiyeh and would no longer be allowed to wear it.
The complaint alleges that Crable told Sayed that displaying the Palestinian flag and wearing a keffiyeh could be “construed as ‘antisemitic’ or ‘supporting terrorism.’” Crable also said Sayed wouldn’t be able to return to her classroom unless she complied, the complaint said.
Over the next several days, Sayed also was allegedly told she couldn’t put a watermelon sticker, a symbol of support of Palestine on her door, or wear the shirt she had previously worn in remembrance of the young Palestinian girl who was killed, according to the complaint. Eventually, the school put a memo in her work contract that said Sayed couldn’t “wear, post, share, or display anything related to ‘the conflict in the Middle East,’” according to the complaint.
Sayed raised discrimination concerns with Crable and with the MCPS Department of Compliance and Investigation, which said rule prohibiting the share of anything related to the conflict didn’t violate MCPS policy, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, Sayed was not told to remove other flag stickers on her door and in her classroom and she noted the school has allowed LGBTQ+ pride flags, Black Lives Matter signs and flags of other countries, including Israel, in classrooms and throughout the school.
“The school displays a giant Israeli flag but prohibits Palestine flags,” the complaint said. “Teachers can display controversial political messages but not if the message is pro-Palestine. And Ms. Sayed can post any flag she wants but cannot post a sticker of a Palestine flag.”
In addition to an injunction, CAIR lawyers are asking the court to rule that the memo placed in Sayed’s contract is unconstitutional and award damages and attorneys’ fees to Sayed, according to the complaint.
