Feds probe claims Ann Arbor school counselor discriminated against Muslim student

Federal officials confirmed they are investigating allegations that an Ann Arbor school counselor made a discriminatory comment to an eighth-grade student.

The probe into the claims involving Tappan Middle School was opened Tuesday, according to the list of open investigations on the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights website.

The agency told The Detroit News on Wednesday: "The department does not comment further on pending investigations."

The middle school is part of Ann Arbor Public Schools.

The district also declined to comment.

"The Ann Arbor Public Schools does not comment on pending legal matters," Andrew Cluley, a district representative, said in an email Wednesday.

A Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization said in December it filed a complaint against Ann Arbor schools over the matter with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations alleges a counselor at the middle school referred to a Palestinian Muslim student as a "terrorist."

Officials for the group hailed the decision to open an investigation.

"CAIR-MI welcomes the Office of Civil Rights opening a formal investigation into whether Ann Arbor Public Schools adequately addressed the alleged comments made by the counselor at Tappan Middle School," Dawud Walid, the organization's executive director, said in a statement Tuesday. "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."

In its December complaint, CAIR-MI said a counselor for sixth-graders allegedly uttered the slur to an eighth-grade boy on Nov. 14 after he asked to be allowed to get a drink from a water fountain outside of a school office.

The counselor denied the boy's request, the complaint said. When the boy asked why, the counselor allegedly answered: "I don’t negotiate with terrorists."

Amy Doukoure, CAIR-MI's staff attorney, said the group hopes the investigation will lead to a resolution that ensures students won't have to attend school with "educators who make biased comments."

"An investigation of this nature can have serious implications for the school district if it is found that they acted inappropriately, and we hope that the school district will finally recognize the seriousness of this matter and the harm that it caused the student," she said.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

X: @CharlesERamirez