Palo Alto parents sue school after girls told to wear hijabs, kids handed Qurans on 'social justice' mosque trip

A group of furious parents is taking a wealthy California school district to federal court after their kids were allegedly pushed into Islamic religious practices during a school-sponsored field trip - complete with hijabs for the girls and free Qurans for everyone.

Ten families and community members, mostly Jewish along with Hindu and Zoroastrian parents, filed suit against the Palo Alto Unified School District and Palo Alto High School Principal Brent Kline. They claim the fall 2025 outing to a Santa Clara mosque as part of the school's "Social Justice Pathway" crossed the line from education into taxpayer-funded religious activity.

According to the complaint, students were encouraged to don Muslim religious attire, including hijabs for girls. Every student was handed a Quran to take home. They observed midday prayers and were taught that Islam "promotes social justice" more than other faiths. Photos of the kids inside the mosque - some in religious gear - were taken and later posted online without parental consent.

The trip was no one-off cultural visit. It was baked into the three-year Social Justice Pathway program at the high-achieving Palo Alto High School, where the mosque was the only house of worship included. Students also heard from Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), whom the lawsuit describes as a controversial speaker with a history of hostile statements about Jews. The suit says she got "unfettered access" to push her views without balance or proper supervision.

Billoo called the lawsuit "misguided," insisting everything was voluntary and educational. "One of the most important ways we combat hate is to learn about each other," she told the San Francisco Chronicle, accusing the parents of trying to intimidate schools from teaching about different worldviews.

District Superintendent Jason Glass said officials are still reviewing the claims and had not yet been formally served. He stressed that board policy requires any instruction about religion to be academic, not devotional, and that no faith may be promoted or denigrated.

The parents aren't buying it. Their lawsuit argues the district failed to maintain religious neutrality, failed to treat faiths equally, failed to protect student privacy, and failed to properly supervise the event. They're seeking an injunction against similar trips, removal of the photos, and damages.

In the elite Silicon Valley district, what was sold as "social justice" education is now facing a hard legal reality check: public schools are supposed to stay neutral on religion. Handing teenagers Qurans and putting hijabs on girls during school hours doesn't exactly scream neutrality.