California school district sued after teacher refers to Muslim student as 'terrorist'

Tony Saavedra, The Orange County Register on Nov 12, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — No one disputes that a Cypress High School teacher last year told a Muslim student of Palestinian descent: “I don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

School officials called it a mere joke, nothing personal.

The student’s lawyer called it a racial epithet that shamed a teenager because of his Palestinian-American roots.

The argument, in the form of a lawsuit, has been taken before Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly A. Knill.

“Clearly, the school’s not taking it seriously,” said attorney Samer Habbas, representing the student, Yousef Abdullah, who the lawyer said was so traumatized that he now wants to be known by the less Arabic-sounding name, “Joseph.”

“When you’re calling a Palestinian child of Muslim descent a terrorist ... it is completely inappropriate, it dehumanizes a kid,” Habbas said.

The Anaheim Union High School District declined comment on the litigation. A recent attempt by district lawyers to have the January lawsuit thrown out of court on legal grounds was overruled by Knill.

In February 2025, Abdullah was a 14-year-old freshman applying for the Advanced Placement English program for the coming year. His application was denied by his English teacher, who — when approached by Abdullah in the presence of other students — said, “I don’t negotiate with terrorists, that is people under the age of 18.”

Abdullah reported the comment to his counselor, who questioned him about his family and attributed the comment to a joke from a movie, according to the lawsuit. Indeed, at least two motion pictures feature the exact refrain, including the 2008 satirical comedy “Tropic Thunder.” The counselor then chanted the comment repeatedly, subjecting Abdullah to what the lawsuit called “overt racism” for the second time.

Abdullah elevated his complaint to an assistant principal, who the lawsuit said “deflected the severity of the situation by saying ‘it’s a phrase, it was not made towards you.’”

Failing to get anybody to take action, Abdullah’s parents went to the district, which conducted an investigation. In a March 2025 letter to the parents, district Human Resources Director Amie Maya said the probe found evidence of a derogatory comment that did not align with board policy prohibiting abusive language against students.

The letter also said the assistant principal acknowledged the comment was inappropriate, but qualified it as a joke.

Maya’s letter said the violation would be addressed using the “confidential personnel process.” Habbas, however, said no meaningful discipline was given. No one lost any work because of the incident.

“Because the kid was Palestinian, it was not taken the same way as if it had been another protected group,” he said. “Some people in the United States are Islamophobic … and attach them to events having nothing to do with them. ... Anybody that looks like Abdullah, prays like Abdullah, is a ‘terrorist.’ “

Habbas pointed to a case in Pennsylvania in which a middle school teacher resigned after making virtually the same terrorist comment to a student who asked to change seats in January 2025.

“I don’t negotiate with terrorists,” the teacher said, igniting a local uproar from the Council on American-Islamic Relations civil rights group.

“Here in Orange County, we have the same identical comment and Yousef Abdullah is told by administrators to deal with it,” said Habbas, who claimed the incident would have been handled differently if it involved another protected group.

Besides the “terrorist” comment, the lawsuit also alleges that teachers discussed Abdullah’s status as a special needs student in front of classmates. Abdullah has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the suit said.

“As a result of these disclosures, plaintiff’s peers became aware of his disability status and subjected him to ridicule, including calling him ‘SpEd,’ ” the suit said. “These events caused plaintiff embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, stress, and social withdrawal, and contributed to a hostile educational environment.”

Abdullah has tried to distance himself from anything that would identify his Arab or Muslim roots, including not wanting to have any facial hair or be around his parents in a public setting, the suit said.

Abdullah, now 16, attends another high school in Orange County, Habbas said.

“Our goal is to hold the district for their failure to protect this kid,” he said. “No kid should be called (a terrorist) by their school.”

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