A Muslim teenager is suing his Southern California school district after a teacher allegedly called him a terrorist and administrators reportedly dismissed the comment as a joke.
In February 2025, 14-year-old Yousef Abdullah approached his teacher at Cypress High School after he was denied admission to the Advanced Placement English program.
“I don’t negotiate with terrorists — that is people under the age of 18,” the English teacher allegedly told Abdullah, a Palestinian-American freshman.
A school counselor allegedly repeated the remark several times, while an assistant principal reportedly brushed it off as merely a phrase.
Now 16, Abdullah is suing the Anaheim Union High School District, accusing officials of discrimination and failing to protect him.
“Clearly, the school’s not taking it seriously,” attorney Samer Habbas, who represents Abdullah, told The Orange County Register.
The district’s own investigation found evidence that a derogatory comment had been made in violation of its policy prohibiting abusive language toward students, according to a March 2025 letter from Human Resources Director Amie Maya.
The district said the matter would be addressed through its confidential personnel process.
Habbas said no meaningful disciplinary action followed.
The lawsuit also alleges that school employees disclosed Abdullah’s ADHD diagnosis to classmates, who then mocked him by calling him “SpEd.”
According to the complaint, the alleged treatment left Abdullah so ashamed of his Palestinian and Muslim identity that he tried to avoid growing facial hair and being seen in public with his parents.
He has since transferred to another Orange County high school.
“When you’re calling a Palestinian child of Muslim descent a terrorist … it is completely inappropriate. It dehumanizes a kid,” Habbas said.
The case is pending in Orange County Superior Court before Judge Kimberly A. Knill, who rejected the district’s attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed.