CAIR-Georgia, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta File Title VI Civil Rights Complaint Against Fulton County School District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2025
CONTACT:
Rachael Ramchand, rramchand@advancingjustice-atlanta.org
Azka Mahmood, CAIR-Georgia Executive Director, azkatmahmood@cair.com
Nazia Khanzada, Communications Manager CAIR-Georgia, nkhanzada@cair.com
Aaron Butler, CAIR-Georgia Managing Attorney, abutler@cair.com
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students expressing their solidarity in support of Palestine have been subject to disturbing discrimination and harassment by their peers, parents of fellow students, and school administrators across Fulton County School District. Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta (Advancing Justice-Atlanta) and the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-GA), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, announced at a press conference the filing of a federal Title VI Civil Rights Complaint against the Fulton County School District (FCSD) with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The complaint alleges that Fulton County School District violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to address persistent racist, anti-Palestinian, xenophobic, and Islamophobic harassment and doxing of students and their allies since October 2023, resulting in systemic failures to protect Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students from pervasive discrimination.
All students should have the right to express themselves freely, practice their faith visibly, and advocate peacefully for human rights without harassment, repression and punishment. In 2024, the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding reported that “nearly half (48%) of Muslim families with school-age children reported having a child who faced religious-based bullying in the past year.” About 42% of students reported that bullying includes teachers and school administrators. Schools have the responsibility of keeping their students safe, and violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act puts schools at risk of losing their federal funding.
Samantha Hamilton, Staff Attorney on Advancing Justice-Atlanta’s Impact Litigation team said, “Children deserve to be protected by the adults who are tasked with their education and care. Fulton County Schools has failed in its mission to do so for our clients, some of whom are as young as 10 years old. If a young Palestinian girl wants to wear a shirt representing her heritage and/or ties to her national origin or ancestry, she should be allowed to do so without being in fear of the people around her. We hope that with the filing of this complaint, Fulton County Schools will do the right thing: protect these children from discrimination and prevent inflicting any further harm.”
Aaron Butler, Managing Attorney at CAIR-Georgia adds, “Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students in Fulton County schools have endured persistent harassment—being labeled 'terrorists,' receiving violent threats, and seeing their cultural symbols mischaracterized as ‘supporting terrorism.’ Our complaint documents how the District has failed these students by ignoring harassment reports, erasing Palestine from curricula, and implementing discriminatory policies. We're urging the Department of Education to investigate these Title VI violations and ensure all students can learn in an environment where their identities are respected and protected, regardless of national origin, race, or religion.”
Advancing Justice-Atlanta and CAIR-Georgia demand FCSD cease its pattern and practice of enabling discrimination of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students as well as their allies. This includes ending the practice of ignoring harmful harassment perpetrated against them by their peers and families, teachers, and FCSD administrators.
(1) Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. October 7, 2024. Research and Resources on American Muslims and the Impact in the United States of Events in Palestine, Israel, and Surrounding Region. ISPU. <https://ispu.org/palestine-israel/>
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), and other marginalized communities in Georgia and the Southeast
CAIR-Georgia is the local Chapter of CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, promote justice, empower American Muslims, and enhance the understanding of Islam.
