Montgomery County teacher under fire for allegedly harassing, humiliating 8-year-old Muslim student
CLARKSBURG, Md. () — An elementary school teacher in Montgomery County is in hot water after the family of an 8-year-old girl said she was harassed for being an American Muslim.
The parents of the girl who attends Cabin Branch Elementary School filed a complaint with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) detailing a 'deeply troubling pattern of behavior' from her teacher.
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According to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Maryland, the complaint said the teacher humiliated, threatened and intimidated the girl, particularly regarding her hijab.
'Who made disparaging remarks about her physical appearance and who allegedly subjected her to disparate treatment that led to her apparently receiving harsher consequences for infractions that other students were not receiving,' Zainab Chaudry, director of CAIR in Maryland, said.
The complaint alleged the teacher denied the girl access to basic necessities, including using the restroom and drinking water.
'This led to his daughter feeling, very anxious and very concerned, very afraid. She was reluctant to go to school,' Chaudry said.
Chaudry said the family didn't get a satisfactory resolution from the school. That's when the girl's father took the complaint to CAIR, prompting advocates to contact MCPS.
'Immediately within, but not even a matter of days. We learned that the school had taken constructive action and that the teacher would no longer have access to the student,' Chaudry said.
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Chaudry appreciates MCPS acting swiftly once they got involved.
'[However,] the fact that the family felt like they had to take that additional step to reach out to CAIR to request our assistance, it definitely signals that there is more work to be done,' she said.
In a statement to CAIR, the girl's father said, 'It means everything to my family that my daughter can now feel safe in class. This situation caused us a lot of stress and worry as parents, my daughter was afraid to go to school before. She's young, she was struggling with what the teacher did. No one's kid should have to deal with this kind of situation from their teachers, no matter their religion.'
An MCPS spokesperson told DC News Now that because the incident is a 'personal matter,' the school system is not allowed to comment on it.
DC News Now asked again, personnel issues aside, for a comment on the alleged harassment of a child and did not get a response back.
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Last year, CAIR received 609 complaints and requests for assistance in Maryland. Chaudry believes that the number is low, given many unreported incidents.
'We hope that this outcome also inspires other families to also seek support if they are a loved one or it's friend or someone that they know is going through a situation where they may potentially be discriminated against,' Chaudry said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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