A Muslim teenager is suing his Southern California school district after a teacher allegedly called him a terrorist and school administrators reportedly dismissed the comment as a joke.
In February 2005, 14-year-old Yousef Abdullah approached his English teacher at Cypress High School after being denied admission to the Advanced Placement English program.
“I don’t negotiate with terrorists, that is people under the age of 18,” the teacher allegedly told Abdullah, a Palestinian-American freshman.
A school counselor allegedly repeated the remark several times, while an assistant principal reportedly brushed it off as nothing more than a phrase.
Now 16, Abdullah is suing the Anaheim Union High School District, alleging discrimination and a failure to protect him from harassment.
“Clearly, the school’s not taking it seriously,” attorney Samer Habbas, who represents Abdullah, told The Orange County Register.
The district’s own investigation found evidence that a derogatory comment had been made in violation of its policy prohibiting abusive language toward students, according to a March 2025 letter from Human Resources Director Amie Maya.
The district said the matter would be addressed through its confidential personnel process.
Habbas, however, said the teacher faced no meaningful discipline.
The lawsuit also claims that school employees revealed Abdullah’s ADHD diagnosis to classmates, who then mocked him by calling him “SpEd.”
According to the complaint, the alleged harassment left Abdullah so ashamed of his Palestinian and Muslim identity that he tried to avoid growing facial hair and being seen in public with his parents.
He has since transferred to another high school in Orange County.
“When you’re calling a Palestinian child of Muslim descent a terrorist … it is completely inappropriate; it dehumanizes a kid,” Habbas said.
The case is pending in Orange County Superior Court before Judge Kimberly A. Knill, who rejected the district’s request to dismiss the lawsuit.
