BALTIMORE — One Maryland school district finds itself in federal court again over a hot button political issue.
A middle school teacher in Montgomery County is accusing her principal and the board of education of "unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution."
Hibah Sayed teaches science and coding to sixth and seventh grade students at Sligo Middle School in Silver Spring.
On her classroom door, Sayed had several flag stickers, including of Palestine.
Last October she noticed the Palestinian sticker had been taken down.
When asked about its removal, the school's principal allegedly told her the flag could be construed as “antisemitic” or “supporting terrorism.”
As one of only two Muslim teachers at the school, Sayed wears a Keffiyeh—a traditional Palestinian scarf—"to express support for the Palestinian people, who she views as being the victims of a decades long ethnic cleansing campaign," her lawsuit reads.
The principal allegedly ordered her to remove that as well.
Despite denying any political intent in posting the flag, Sayed two days later posted a watermelon sticker with a political message supporting Palestine.
"While Ms. Sayed’s watermelon had a political message, it was a visual depiction of a watermelon indistinguishable from visual depictions of watermelons worn by students without incident," her lawsuit states.
The principal issued a second warning, instructing Sayed to remove the sticker.
About 11 days later Sayed came to work wearing a shirt reading, “GAZA: The Soul of My Soul,” which she apparently wore many times prior without admonishment.
The principal warned Sayed a third time allegedly telling her "the shirt was disruptive and could be perceived as antisemitic."
Along with the final warning, the principal released a memorandum that Sayed "was not allowed to wear, post, share, or display anything related to the conflict in the Middle East.”
Additionally, the lawsuit claims the directive was put into Sayed's work contract, "meaning that her failure to comply may result in her termination."
After exhausting all internal options, Sayed says she is forced to take the case to court.
"Meanwhile, the flags of other countries continued to fly at Sligo Middle School, as did political messages about Black Lives Matter and other comparably controversial topics," her lawsuit continues. "The School displays a giant Israeli flag but prohibits Palestine flags."
Sayed is being represented by CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who've also been at the center of a legal fight against Montgomery County Public Schools over their denying parents rights to opt students out of LGBTQ+ book reading.
The outcome of that case awaits a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, where the conservative majority appears poised to rule in their favor.
