Suit was filed yesterday in a Virginia federal district court against Fairfax County schools by four Muslim students who were disciplined because of a skit they posted on the Muslim Students Association Instagram site. The complaint (full text) in Doe v. School Board for Fairfax County Public Schools, (ED VA, filed 6/4/2026), alleges in part:
2. Plaintiffs, students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (“TJHSST”), created a lighthearted promotional video for their chapter of the Muslim Student Association. The video contained no threats, no weapons, and no reference to any real-world event. It was a skit, modeled on a viral online trend, intended to invite students to their events.
3. After bad-faith actors outside of TJHSST made Islamophobic, racist, and anti-Palestinian characterizations about the video, FCPS and TJHSST adopted those characterizations as their own.
4. Defendants suspended Plaintiffs, labeled their conduct “antisemitic,” barred one Plaintiff from wearing a sweatshirt displaying the map of Palestine, and placed disciplinary marks on the students’ records.
5. These actions were entirely without justification, damaging the reputations of the students before their peers and teachers and significantly affecting their educational performance and future opportunities.
6. Because Defendants punished Plaintiffs’ protected speech, and treated Plaintiffs differently because they were Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian, Plaintiffs are entitled to relief under the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and Title VI.
CAIR issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.
