Lawsuit brought against teacher for allegedly removing student’s hijab

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The family of a second-grade student at Seth Boyden Elementary School is suing the South Orange–Maplewood School District and teacher Tamar Herman, in response to an allegation that Herman forcibly removed the student’s hijab from her head in October 2021.

According to the lawsuit, the family is seeking damages for emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, and other pain and suffering. The lawsuit was filed by the student’s parents, Joseph and Cassandra Wyatt, on her behalf.

Herman is no longer teaching at Seth Boyden, according to the family’s attorney, Robert L. Tarver. According to a statement from the district on Thursday, Oct. 7, the incident was being investigated. However, on Tuesday, Oct. 12, Superintendent Ronald Taylor said the investigation was handed over to the Maplewood Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. According to ECPO public information officer Katherine Carter in an email to the News-Record on Monday, Jan. 10, the investigation is ongoing.

“Our lawsuit alleges violations of New Jersey’s law against discrimination, because it is unlawful under statute for an individual, whether it be a teacher or anyone else, to discriminate on the basis of religion or religious expression, which is exactly what Ms. Herman did when she deliberately, intentionally and forcefully moved the child’s hijab from her head,” Tarver said in a press conference announcing the lawsuit on Thursday, Jan. 6, adding that his own investigation found that Herman had been reported by other parents for similar incidents in the past. “We have alleged violations against the school of negligence, because the school knew the district knew that this was a teacher that had prior problems and yet allowed this teacher to remain as a teacher.”

A lawyer for Herman, Samantha Harris, in a statement to WABC-TV, an ABC affiliate in New York, said in October that Herman did not forcibly remove the student’s hijab.

“In accordance with school policy, Ms. Herman directed a student in her class to pull down the hood on what appeared to be a hooded sweatshirt, because it was blocking her eyes — and immediately rescinded that request when she realized that the student was wearing the hood in place of, rather than on top of, her usual hijab,” Harris said at the time. “The misinformation shared on social media has caused tremendous harm to Ms. Herman — a teacher who, after more than 30 years of devoting her heart and soul to children of all backgrounds, has now had to ask for police protection, due to the threats she is receiving, following the dissemination of false information on social media.”

According to the lawsuit and the student’s family, the student has had professional help in dealing with the incident.
“This young child has had to, at certain points, question certain tenants of her religion. She’s had to question why things are done in a certain way,” Tarver said. “She’s had to question her separateness from other children, when in fact it was something that she was proud of and was able to deal with on a regular basis. What makes this most tragic is that it didn’t have to happen.”

Cassandra Wyatt, the student’s mother, said at the press conference that her daughter still wears her hijab, but often doesn’t want to anymore. She has had a hard time understanding why other students in her class don’t wear one.
“I always told her that her hijab was her protection,” Wyatt said. “So now she’s asking me why the other kids don’t wear it, and if her teacher could take it off of her head, other kids and other people could try to take it off of her head. She and her sister are afraid that someone else is going to pull their hijab off of their head.”

In an email to the News-Record on Thursday, Jan. 6, Anide Eustache, SOMSD communications director, said she was unable to confirm whether the district was yet in receipt of the lawsuit, as the district was all virtual until Monday, Jan. 10.
“Nonetheless, we are not able to comment on any pending litigation, and we will not be providing any further comments at this time,” Eustache said.