Fairfax County Public Schools has temporarily agreed not to release the disciplinary records of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) students who were suspended for making a “kidnapping” skit for social media to promote their chapter of the Muslim Students Association, pending the outcome of a lawsuit against the school system.
Filed in federal court last week, the preliminary agreement largely prevents FCPS from releasing disciplinary records related to the case to colleges and universities or anyone else who inquires. It also stipulates that the students will not be disciplined for wearing clothing with a map of Palestine or the Palestine flag.
In exchange, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil liberties group that is assisting the students with legal counsel, agreed to forgo a motion for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria.
“We appreciate the school district for taking a step in the right direction, even if the measure is temporary,” John Fossum, a staff attorney for the CAIR Legal Defense Fund, said in a press release. “The next step is acknowledging and taking responsibility for the harm done to our clients.”
Fairfax County Public Schools did not respond to requests for comment.
The agreement contains some exceptions for if the disclosure is authorized by the court, if personally identifiable information is removed, or if there are compulsory processes for the school system. The agreement is in effect until District Judge Anthony Trenga issues a final judgment on the case.
The suit, which was filed earlier this summer, alleges that FCPS violated the students’ rights under the First and Fourteenth amendments, as well as several federal civil rights statutes.
In the weeks following the videos being posted online, FCPS received significant criticism for the video, which depicts students asking other students if they plan to attend the Muslim Students Association meeting, then “kidnapping” them after they say no. The lawsuit alleges that other student groups also posted “kidnapping” skits based on a popular social media trend and were not disciplined.
The agreement reached last week states that a Palestine sweatshirt one of the students is wearing in the video will not on its own be cause for discipline.
