Parents Sue Palo Alto School After Students’ Mosque Trip, Hijabs and Qurans
Parents are suing Palo Alto High School and the Palo Alto Unified School District after students were taken to a mosque during a field trip last fall.
The trip was part of the school’s “Social Justice Pathway” program, according to the lawsuit. The parents allege that students were handed Qurans during the visit. They also say female students were told to wear Islamic head coverings, known as hijabs.
The California Post reported that the students were encouraged to wear hijabs. The report described the lawsuit as a challenge to the school’s alleged effort to connect Islam with social justice work.
The plaintiffs include a group representing two Jewish parents of Palo Alto High School students, three former Jewish students, a Hindu parent, and a Zoroastrian parent. The lawsuit also names school principal Brent Kline.
Another central claim involves student photographs. The parents allege that pictures of the children were taken and posted online without their consent.
The students were also exposed to Zahra Billoo, identified in the source report as an Islamic activist and executive director of the Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. The report describes CAIR as terror-linked. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced this summer that he intends to designate CAIR as a terrorist organization.
Billoo rejected the parents’ argument in a statement to The San Francisco Chronicle. She said:
“Public schools and the government have an obligation to remain neutral toward religion, but what neutrality does not mean is shielding students entirely,” Billoo said. “The job of educators is to teach students, and expose them to different worldviews. That’s what happened here.”
She also accused the parents of trying to pressure public schools and districts.
“One of the most important ways we combat hate is to learn about each other,” Billoo said. “I am concerned that this group of parents not only wants to counteract that for their own children… but is attempting to intimidate schools and school districts from doing necessary work of educating the next generation.”
The dispute comes amid other reports of public schools taking students to Islamic centers. One Texas school recently drew criticism after students were bused to an Islamic center to “experience Islam firsthand.”
The center later posted: “Students Visited a Mosque… and Left Changed.”
WATCH: Texas public-school students were bussed to an Islamic center to “experience Islam firsthand.”
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) August 13, 2026
WATCH: Texas public-school students were bussed to an Islamic center to “experience Islam firsthand.”
The center later boasted:
“Students Visited a Mosque… and Left Changed.” pic.twitter.com/zOxclNN7W5
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) August 13, 2026