New school policies weighed amid flap over Islam assembly | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
New school policies weighed amid flap over Islam assembly
© 2008 The Associated Press
FRIENDSWOOD, Texas — Controversy from an Islamic group visiting a junior high school after a Muslim student was stuffed in a trash can has school trustees weighing a ban on religious presentations by outsiders.
The proposal came Tuesday at a Friendswood ISD school board meeting, packed with about 200 residents divided over the Islamic culture assembly to seventh- and eigth-graders last month.
Some parents, talk radio hosts and Christian clergy have criticized Friendswood Junior High, where the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Houston discussed basic beliefs of Islam to about 900 students.
Parents were not notified about the CAIR presentation, which was a violation of a school policy. The school district has acknowledged that was a mistake.
Robin Lowe, the school’s principal at the time, took another job in the district last week amid the uproar. But most who spoke at the meeting Tuesday blasted the school board for not supporting Lowe, the Houston Chronicle reported.
“This community has been embarrassed. You can turn that around and make yourselves and your community proud,” Friendswood resident Tom Burke said.
Friendswood ISD Superintendent Trish Hanks described the trash can incident as a “random, impulsive act” that had nothing to do with religious preference or ethnicity. But she told the crowd that CAIR viewed it as a “hate crime” and reported it to the FBI.
The school board is scheduled to vote next month on Hanks’ proposal that only school district teachers will address religious topics in the future.
New school policies weighed amid flap over Islam assembly | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle