Montgomery County teacher sues after Palestine flag removed from classroom
In doing so, the suit claims her First Amendment rights were violated.
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Hibah Sayed began teaching at Sligo Middle School in 2020 and served as the staff sponsor of the school's Minority Scholars Program (MSP). In August 2023, Sayed posted several stickers of flags from varying countries on her classroom door, including the Palestine flag.
The stickers — no more than 4 inches wide — could sometimes encourage questions or observations from her students, and didn't interfere with her overall teaching ability, the lawsuit explained. Displaying flags from multiple countries was not uncommon around the school, and even the cafeteria included flags from various parts of the world, including Israel, Germany, China and more.
Beyond allowing other nations' flags to be flown, the school permitted political advocacy flags, including Pride flags and Black Lives Matter.
While the Palestine flag in her classroom didn't pose an issue for months, that changed following the Oct. 7, 2023, deadly surprise attack on Israel led by Hamas militants from Gaza. This occurred during a festival that took lives and hostages and started the ongoing Hamas-Israel war.
Israel recovers the remains of 3 more hostages from Gaza
Shortly after the attacks, a student from a different classroom at Sligo Middle School complained about the Palestinian flag, and her parent contacted the school requesting it be taken down. The school, at the time, agreed that the display didn't violate any rules and therefore could remain.
The flag remained on her door until the day after the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks. While Sayed wasn't at school on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, she came back that Tuesday to find the flag had been taken down and sought to meet with the principal.
Principal Peter Crable didn't say who removed the flag, but reportedly told Sayed she couldn't put the Palestinian flag sticker back on her door. Crable deemed that any flag besides the Palestinian flag could be displayed.
The lawsuit noted that she is the only South Asian staff member and one of only two Muslim teachers. Sayed wore a Keffiyeh, which is a traditional Palestinian scarf, to express support for the Palestinian people.
Tensions remain high in the Middle East
During the same Oct. 8, 2024, meeting, Crable told Sayed she had to take off her Keffiyeh that she wore that day, and was no longer allowed to wear it, according to court documents.
When pressed, Crable told her the flag and Keffiyeh could be construed as 'antisemitic' or 'supporting terrorism.'
Sayed, at some point, learned the student who filed the initial complaint had repeatedly complained to the administration about the flag sticker.
Two days later, on Oct. 10, 2024, Sayed put a Watermelon up — which at the time was known as a symbol of solidarity for Palestinians. Cable emailed her the same day, directing her to remove it.
'Crable specifically stated that the reason she could not display the watermelon wasbecause it is a symbol of Palestine solidarity,' the lawsuit reads.
On Oct. 21, she wore a 'GAZA: The Soul of My Soul' shirt, which she had worn previously without any incident. The shirt was a reference to Reem Nabhan, a three-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli forces in November 2023.
Sayed was escorted to the principal's office and given the option to change into a school t-shirt or leave for the day.
This was followed by a written Memorandum for the Record, which prevented her from posting, sharing or displaying anything related to 'the conflict in the Middle East.'
The memo was added to her contract, creating grounds for termination if she did not follow it.
'Principal Crable and Sligo Middle School's directives forbidding Ms. Sayed from posting the Palestinian flag, from wearing the Keffiyeh, and from making any reference to Palestine while allowing other political flags and political messages to be displayed constitutes unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination,' the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit is seeking to prevent the school from prohibiting Sayed from displaying messages and declaring it unconstitutional under the First Amendment. The lawsuit is also seeking compensatory damages and financial relief.
In response to DC News Now's request for a statement, Montgomery County Public Schools said, 'We are unable to comment on possible litigation.'
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