San Diego Unified's Plan To Protect Muslim Students From Bullying Prompts Lawsuit

This is KPBS Midday Edition I am Maureen Cavanaugh. The San Diego unified school district is in the process of putting together a policy aimed at keeping Muslim students safe from bullying. Even before the policy is complete a lawsuit has been filed against it. A handful of parents have joined with the freedom of conscience defend plan to challenge the constitutionality of the plan. Joining me as reporter Gary worked in the newsroom of the San Diego Union Tribune. Welcome to the program. Hello. What does the lawsuit say is the problem with the policy. It means a few things. Mostly it is a separation of church and state issue. There are three main points I think they really make and one is that they don't like the Council for American Islamic relations is involved. They also do not think that there has been a significant number of incidences of bullying to really call for any kind of action. The biggest issue is just a favoritism that says is being done toward one religion over another. They have a site that calls for equal protection and they do say that the Supreme Court has ruled that you are not supposed to have any favoritism over -- up one religion over another. The San Diego unified already have an anti-bullying policy? Yes they have a policy and infect this is part of a larger effort for protecting all students from bullying. I understand they began the effort with LGBTQ students. They have also addressed Latino students and native American students. This effort came up from the survey a couple years ago that showed that there was a disproportionate number of Muslim student who were bullied so the attack, as part of the ongoing effort to have to protect all students from bullying and protecting this population of students. It is not like they have only identified Muslim student is that the only students they would want to protect from bullying. What is the issue they had against Islamic relations or care? They think that care is a religious group itself. The wording in the lawsuit assess what the mission is but it is from [Indiscernible] yesterday. Of particular concern is there five ties to have been convicted of terror related crimes. Can look this up. They have a full page addressing what they say is a smear campaign against it. They don't support radical Islam. They denounce terrorism. They say that any claims against it has been a long-standing terror campaign. Don't they have a track record. They were the champion of them out so that it costs they consider that a victory argue that it was a Veterans Memorial. They worked kids across. They have been involved in some other conservative lawsuit. How have they thought about this lawsuit. I could say something that they have said in the past about what these claims are and one is that they do come in for. They only have seven instances of bullying and that is 7005%. It raises the question how many bullying incidents is are okay. And should we try to protect all students. Also that number itself might be really representative of what's going on with Muslim students. The care survey that began a discussion about this with that said at 55 % of mobile sums students have had some kind of experience in bullying. With that salmon were reported. I spoke to somebody in the district, said that's the ones that were reported and since then they have felt that they could come forward and say that they have been bullied. They're trying to do something about it and the approach that they are taking is better education. The points for people that only have an understanding about Islam set of the slide is another world religion they would have a brother view of it. When they see a kid who is Muslim they would not be concerned about association with the would just see them as a kid that has another religious view another faith that his family follows. Does this lawsuit ask for monetary damages? No it does not and asks for them to kind of start over and address an anti-bullying program that would not look at one group of students but would look at all student. That's one of the issues that they have with us. It's that it is looking at one group of students and saying you should just have an anti-bullying program. They look at it as you have to take each case and protect what's the best thing you can do for each of these populations to protect them. I have been speaking with Gary worth at the San Diego Union Tribune. Thank you.