A 16-year-old Palestinian-American student has sued a school district in Southern California, alleging that a teacher called him a “terrorist” and that school officials failed to take meaningful action after he reported the incident.
Yousef Abdullah filed the lawsuit against the Anaheim Union High School District over an incident in February 2025, when he was 14 and approached his English teacher at Cypress High School after being rejected from the Advanced Placement (AP) English programme.
According to the complaint, the teacher allegedly told him in front of other students: “I don’t negotiate with terrorists, that is people under the age of 18.”
Abdullah’s attorney, Samer Habbas, said a school counsellor also repeated the remark several times, while an assistant principal allegedly dismissed it as a joke or a phrase.
Habbas told the Orange County Register that the incident was deeply humiliating for the teenager.
“When you’re calling a Palestinian child of Muslim descent a terrorist … it is completely inappropriate, it dehumanizes a kid,” he said.
School investigation found derogatory comment
After Abdullah reported the incident to his counsellor and assistant principal, his parents escalated the complaint to the school district.
The district launched an investigation and, in a March 2025 letter, Human Resources Director Amie Maya said investigators had found evidence of a derogatory comment that violated the school board’s policy against abusive language directed at students.
The letter also acknowledged that the assistant principal had recognised the teacher’s remark was inappropriate, although it had been described as a joke.
Maya said the matter would be addressed through the district’s “confidential personnel process”.
Habbas, however, alleged that no meaningful disciplinary action followed and that no employees lost their jobs over the incident. He argued that the complaint had not been treated with sufficient seriousness because of Abdullah’s Palestinian background.
The lawsuit is now before the Orange County Superior Court. Judge Kimberly A. Knill recently rejected the district’s attempt to have the case dismissed on legal grounds. The lawsuit was filed in January 2026.
The school district reportedly declined a request from the Orange County Register to comment on the litigation.
Lawsuit alleges disclosure of ADHD diagnosis
The complaint also accuses school employees of discussing Abdullah’s special-needs status in front of classmates, revealing his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.
It alleges that other students subsequently mocked him using the term “SpEd”, causing embarrassment, anxiety, stress and social withdrawal.
The complaint says the incidents contributed to a hostile educational environment.
According to the lawsuit, the alleged treatment left Abdullah ashamed of his Palestinian and Muslim identity. He reportedly began avoiding things that might identify him as Arab or Muslim, including growing facial hair or appearing in public with his parents.
Habbas said the teenager has since transferred to another high school in Orange County. He also said Abdullah now wants to use the name “Joseph”, which he considers less Arabic-sounding.
The lawsuit seeks to hold the school district accountable for its handling of the complaint and its alleged failure to protect the student from discrimination.
“Our goal is to hold the district for their failure to protect this kid,” Habbas said. “No kid should be called (a terrorist) by their school.”
