Saturday

10-18-2025 Vol 2117

Families Sue Philadelphia School District Over First Amendment Violations Related to Prayer Incident

The families of three teens are taking legal action against the School District of Philadelphia, claiming that their First Amendment rights were violated in relation to punishments meted out after the boys prayed in Hebrew in a designated Muslim prayer room at the Academy at Palumbo.

The lawsuit, filed on August 6, cites that the students faced unwarranted disciplinary actions without due process and highlights a lack of investigation into circumstances surrounding the incident.

The situation escalated following the event, with the boys and their families experiencing verbal abuse both in-person and on social media, prompting them to relocate out of the district.

According to the lawsuit, which involves four boys—two of whom are Jewish—only one Jewish student’s family is listed as a plaintiff.

Tensions regarding the designated prayer room had been simmering prior to the June 11 incident. The boys entered the room marked as a “quiet room,” which was reserved for Muslim students to pray, though the lawsuit argues that the student body was not officially informed that the space was exclusively for Muslim use.

Outside the room, a Palestinian flag was visible, and once inside, the boys observed Muslim decorations. When they entered, they prayed in Hebrew, with one chanting “Am Yisrael Chai” and another student performing a handstand.

Claims from students accused the boys of “trashing” the prayer room, accusations that the boys vehemently deny. The incident subsequently led to a series of nonviolent altercations among students in the wake of their actions.

Ultimately, the three boys from the Academy at Palumbo were suspended for allowing a fourth boy, a former student, entry into the school.

Allegations made by school officials against the boys escalated further, particularly by Principal Kiana Thompson. She allegedly informed the mother of the former student that he engaged in “sexually stimulated or suggestive dances or maneuvers,” destroyed posters, and expressed hatred toward Muslims. The lawsuit contests these claims, stating one boy merely removed a sign from the wall and placed it gently on the floor.

Lori Lowenthal Marcus, legal director of The Deborah Project, has taken up their case, emphasizing that the rumors perpetuated by school officials were unfounded and severely impacted the families, ultimately causing them to leave their community.

She asserts, “All told, the statements from the alleged victims didn’t make any of the claims that were part of the rumors, and the rumors were exacerbated by agents of the school district, including a teacher from another school who sat down at the public comment table before the school board a few days later—knowing it had not yet been investigated—and told a lurid story of intentional desecration of Muslim religious accouterments and attacks on Muslim girls that never happened.

Lowenthal Marcus continued, “She wasn’t stopped by the school board. It was live-streamed. The boys’ names were released on social media, including by teachers of the school district.”

Within the context of rising tensions surrounding the incident, the lawsuit also mentions that shortly after the October 2023 conflict, one Muslim student threatened a Jewish student with violence, promising he would “kill [him] and everybody in Israel.”

Further incidents included the same student allegedly displaying pro-Hamas sentiments in class by writing “I heart Hamas” on a whiteboard.

Just two days post-incident, the families of the four boys approached Principal Thompson for a meeting, aiming to discuss safety concerns due to the threats emerging on social media. However, they were informed that Thompson would only meet with one family.

When the parents requested urgent attention to their concerns, Thompson reportedly laughed and responded, “Well, there’s multiple sides to that story.”

Lowenthal Marcus has indicated that the existence of the prayer room is itself a disturbing matter deserving of public scrutiny, promoting a policy that protects a specific demographic while potentially alienating others.

She stated, “There is a clear space in a public high school into which obviously any non-Muslim who dares to come in and pray a Jewish prayer, or I suppose a Christian prayer, would be punished… it’s the official policy of the school to protect that space and keep it segregated for Muslims only.

The lawsuit is not only about justice for the families involved but also aims to cultivate a more inclusive school environment that adheres to constitutional values.

Lowenthal Marcus emphasized, “There’s a lot of healing that has to go on, and the school district needs to ensure that the people they put in positions of leadership understand their legal obligations to their students.”

In response to the ongoing litigation, Monique Braxton, the deputy chief of communications for the school district, stated that the district does not comment on active or pending lawsuits.

As a consequence of the accusations and subsequent fallout, the lawsuit claims that the students could no longer attend the school “without exposing [themselves] to death or serious bodily injury.”

In light of this, all involved students ended their enrollment in the school and the district altogether.

Lowenthal Marcus recounted the emotional toll on the families, saying, “These families weren’t shattered, because they are all strong, loving families—but they were traumatized by the idea that their sons were in physical danger in their own communities, and that the response from the school was not only to blame their sons, but when the families all showed up to meet with the principal, to throw them out.

“They moved from the place where they had lived for decades and had to move out to a place where they didn’t know other people and had no other family around.

“They had to put their boys in a totally different school in the middle of high school. I had many conversations with the families, many of which were trying to calm them down and help them believe that there is a way out of this and that there would be an end to this trauma.”

image source from:jewishexponent

Benjamin Clarke