A Muslim teenager's battle to wear her religious headdress to school has landed her in hot water with authorities in the state of Oklahoma, and the issue could go all the way to the courts, officials said.
Education officials in Muskogee, Oklahoma, have twice suspended Nashala Hearn from Benjamin Franklin Science Academy for violating school dress code by wearing the Muslim head scarf, or hijab.
The 11-year-old is scheduled to return to school next week after her latest five-day suspension, but officials say Hearn will not be admitted to class if she continues to wear the scarf in violation of school rules.
The school district's dress code bans students from wearing hats, caps, bandanas or other headwear inside school buildings, and was initially devised to deter gang-related activity, according to education officials.
Education officials in this town 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Oklahoma City, said they were not inclined to make exceptions to the rule on religious grounds.
"We have to be as neutral as possible with all religious requests," said Eldon Gleichman, superintendent of Muskogee Public Schools.
"I can't let the door open for one and not expect the door to be thrown open wide for everybody."
Hearn's father, Eyvine Hearn, an African-American who converted to Islam, is determined his daughter won't back down.
"She's not going to compromise her religion. We can't turn our back on God."
Several heavy-weight national rights groups have waded into the debate, including the Washington-based Muslim advocacy group, CAIR, (Council on American-Islamic Relations).
"This is a clear violation of the student's right to freely practice her faith," said CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper.
In a statement he cited guidelines from the US Department of Education guidelines, based on the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, that say schools cannot bar students from wearing "particular attire, such as yarmulkes (skull caps) or head scarves," during the school day where the attire is part of a students' religious practice.
Muskogee education officials likewise insisted the law was on their side.
"We're just following the rules," said D.D. Hayes, attorney for Muskogee Public Schools, citing a 1995 US Department of Education policy.
Hearn's advocates are confident that legal precedent will bear them out.
The courts are clear that religious faiths have to be accommodated, even in the public schools, said John Whitehead, President of the Rutherford Institute, a Virginia civil liberties and human rights group now investigating the case.