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WASHINGTON, April 1, 2004: The Department of Justice has filed a complaint against a local school in the U.S. state of Oklahoma for suspending an 11-year-old Muslim girl for refusing to remove her head scarf. The complaint alleges that Muskogee, Oklahoma, Public School district violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bars states from applying dress codes in an inconsistent and discriminatory manner. It asks the court to prohibit the school district from discriminating against the student, and to have the dress code policy revised to ensure that discrimination on the basis of religion does not continue. “No student should be forced to choose between following her faith and enjoying the benefits of a public education,” said Assistant Attorney General R. Alexander Acosta. “We certainly respect local school systems’ authority to set dress standards, and otherwise regulate their students, but such rules cannot come at the cost of constitutional liberties. Religious discrimination has no place in American schools,” he said. According to the complaint, the student was twice suspended from the Benjamin Franklin Science Academy for refusing to take off her headscarf, or hijab, after being told that it violated the school’s dress code. the girl and her parents filed a suit in October 2003. the Justice Department, in addition to its complaint, filed a motion to intervene in the private litigation. HPI adds: The Justice Department position stands in notable contrast to the current attempt by the French government to ban head scarves for Muslim girls. Under US law, the state must show a “compelling interest” to ban an activity or symbol, in this case a scarf. Schools have been successful in banning gang clothing symbols, but only by showing the clothing contributed to lawlessness in the school. In this case, it appears the school likely unable show a “compelling interest” in banning the scarf. Hindus should follow this case, as its results will apply to any future attempts to limit expressions of Hindu religion by students, such as wearing a pottu to school.

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