Cair files civil rights complaint over alleged discriminatory treatment of Palestinian-American student

The Georgia branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) submitted a Title VI civil rights complaint on Wednesday against a middle school, accusing the principal of discriminatory and unjust behaviour towards a Palestinian-American student.

On 15 November 2023, a counsellor at the school allegedly escorted a Palestinian-American student out of class, instructing him to take off his scarf that bore the Palestinian flag, labelling it as "offensive".

According to Cair, he expressed feeling victimised due to his Palestinian background, leading to feelings of embarrassment, anxiety and shame.

"We have seen a massive increase in reports of Islamophobic, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian incidents, with many reports coming from a wide range of public schools in the state," Keon Grant, Cair-Georgia staff attorney said.