What if my child is being bullied?

Dear parents and educators,

It’s a rare week when we don’t receive a note from concerned parents asking for help in addressing misinformation about Islam and Muslims in social studies curriculum or harassment of their children at school. And as you might expect, media coverage of issues relating to anti-Muslim bigotry (as in this week’s case of Ahmed Mohamed) leads to more bullying. These types of incidents should never be tolerated. Not by students, not by parents, not by educators and school staff, and not by the tradition of American religious pluralism.

Educators, if students report being bullied for any reason, including their religious or ethnic background, you must follow both state and federal laws in taking immediate and appropriate action, as follows:

Click here for state-by-state policies and laws.

Click here for federal laws.

Parents, if your child is being bullied for any reason, including his or her religious or ethnic background, then report it to the school’s administrators who are required by state and federal laws to take immediate and appropriate action as described above.

If you feel that action is not being taken or need support, then please don’t hesitate from contacting either our staff or the staff of the nearest CAIR office.

To address training for educators and school administrators on Muslim student populations and how to build a more inclusive school environment, we offer ING programs and resources to your school staff as follows:

• Cultural diversity training for educators and school staff.
• Bullying prevention panels on Muslim, Sikh, and Jewish students (delivered for assemblies only).
• Online curriculum (lesson plans and PPT slides).
• Answers to FAQs about Islam and Muslims
• Islamic Speakers Bureau provides presentations that supplement content standards in social studies.
• Interfaith Speakers Bureau brings panels of the world’s major religions into the classroom.

Please forward this information to your children’s educators and other parents.

Sincerely,

Ameena Jandali
Content Director