Parents sue California school district over mosque field trip, hijab request

A group of parents and former students are suing a California public school district over a field trip to a mosque.

The group says the mosque encouraged girls to wear hijabs during the trip. Students also got Qurans to take home, according to the federal complaint⁠.

The lawsuit names Palo Alto Unified School District and Palo Alto High School Principal Brent Kline as defendants. The parents filed it Aug. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The case is about a fall 2025 trip by students in the high school’s Social Justice Pathway. It is a three-year course track for sophomores, juniors and seniors.

About 100 students visited the Muslim Community Association’s mosque in Santa Clara, according to the mosque’s website.

Students heard from Zahra Billoo, the leader of the San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The students watched the mosque’s midday prayer service. Additionally, an imam answered questions about Islam and the meaning of worship.

Students also met children in the Noor Hifz Academy, a program where children memorize the Quran.

The mosque called the field trip a chance for students to “experience Islam in action.”

The parents say the school went too far by having students participate in Islamic practices instead of just teaching about them.

Girls were offered hijabs to wear inside the mosque, the lawsuit alleges. The mosque also gave all the students Qurans for personal use. The complaint also says students were photographed in religious clothing. The mosque later posted those pictures online, it says.

Parents did not receive enough information about the religious parts of the trip before giving consent, according to the lawsuit. They also say they lacked a way to keep their children out of those parts of the visit.

The complaint says the mosque is the only house of worship included in the Social Justice Pathway. It also says students were taught Islam has a special tie to social justice work.

“The District failed to maintain religious neutrality, failed to ensure equal treatment among faiths, failed to protect student privacy, and failed to vet, supervise, and monitor religiously divisive outside speakers during the school-sponsored event,” the complaint says.

The plaintiffs include Jewish parents, former Palo Alto High School students, plus a Hindu and a Zoroastrian parent.

They accuse the district of violating the First Amendment by favoring Islam. They also say the trip forced students to express support for a faith they may not follow.

Billoo said nobody forced the students to practice Islam. She told the San Francisco Chronicle⁠ participating in Islamic rituals was voluntary.

“The job of educators is to teach students, and expose them to different worldviews. That’s what happened here,” Billoo said.

District Superintendent Jason Glass said the district learned about the lawsuit from news reports.

Glass said district rules require lessons about religion to be academic only. He said schools cannot promote a faith or speak against one. He said the district is reviewing what happened.

The families want the court to stop the district from holding school events that promote a religion or place students in religious activities without what they call informed parental consent. They also want clearer rules for field trips and guest speakers.

The lawsuit asks the district to remove the disputed student photos where possible. Plaintiffs also seek financial damages and legal fees.