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The student was called down to the office for apparently wearing a hijab: a traditional head covering worn among Muslim women when they become of age.
The student was then sent home for not complying with the school's required uniform, according to a Facebook post from one of the student's older siblings. This apparently was not the first time something like this happened at MVRCS.
"When I began at Mystic Valley, I was in fifth grade and I was the first to attend this school wearing a hijab," the post read. "I was forced to stay in the office (in school detention) until my parents obtained a letter from a religious leader indicating that this was as a part of the Muslim religion for Muslim women to dress modestly. After doing so I was allowed to sit with classmates and attend classes regularly. This was over 10 years ago."
The school requires students to present a letter from their clergy expressing the desire to wear religious garments in the building, MVRCS said in a statement. Superintendent Alexander Dan further solidified this policy in his own statement that was emailed to the MVRCS community.
"Please understand that one of the primary purposes of the policy in question is to protect the integrity of the religious beliefs of those who hold them," Dan said. "Our hope is to connect with this student’s parents as soon as possible to move toward what is a very simple resolution."
However, people on social media were outraged at the school's handling of the situation with the post attracting hundreds of comments and over 1400 shares. The school has since responded by saying they "mishandled" the incident.
"While we would like to reiterate that the well-respected staff member overseeing the process should bear no responsibility for what transpired, we understand how our handling of the situation came across as insensitive," the school said. "[We] look forward to using this moment as a learning opportunity to improve our policies and procedures."
Legal action was taken against the school by the Massachusetts Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Mass) who helped control the initial situation. Since speaking with the parents the day after the incident, the student was said to be wearing her hijab in school without question.
"We will continue to investigate what happened, review the policies of the school, and research applicable state and federal laws," CAIR-Mass said on Instagram. "We look forward to working with all our community partners to assure that the religious rights of Muslim students are protected."
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