Ann Arbor Schools Investigated For Claims Of Discriminatory Comment

ANN ARBOR, MI — Federal officials are looking into a complaint that accuses an Ann Arbor middle school counselor of making a discriminatory comment to an eighth-grade student last November.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights said Tuesday the investigation will focus on if district officials failed to respond to harassment of the student on a basis of natural origin and whether the district retaliated against the eighth-grade student in violation of Title VI.

The complaint was filed by the Council on American Islamic Relations' Michigan chapter, and accuses a Tappan Middle School counselor of saying she does "not negotiate with terrorists" while speaking with a Muslim student.

"Calling a Palestinian Muslim student a ‘terrorist’ is a very offensive and hurtful comment that was compounded by the school board’s seeming lack of concern for the student when it was brought to their attention. We are hopeful that the Office of Civil Rights investigation will prompt Ann Arbor Public Schools to take this matter and those like it, seriously," Executive Director for the Michigan chapter Dawud Walid said in a statement.

The eight-grade student was waiting to see his counselor at Tappan Middle School on Nov. 14 when he asked another counselor if he could get a drink of water, according to the complaint.

The sixth-grade counselor told the student he cannot, and when the student asked why, the counselor said because "I don't negotiate with terrorists," according to the complaint.

The student, who is Muslim and Palestinian, told the counselor that he took offense to the comment, and that it was discriminatory and inappropriate based on his Muslim and Palestinian religion and ethnicity, according to the complaint.

Instead of apologizing, the counselor asked others nearby if they'd heard the phrase before, according to the complaint.

Moreover, the student said the counselor and other counselors did not talk with him over the ensuing days, which the Council on American Islamic Relations claims is retaliation and further isolated the student, according to the complaint.

After the incident, the eight-grade student said he no longer feels comfortable attending the school or participating in meetings in the counselor’s office, according to the complaint.

Patch reached out to Ann Arbor district officials and will update this story when we hear back.