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Wylie ISD investigates how "Why Islam" group set up on campus without approval
At Tuesday's Wylie Independent School District school board meeting, dozens of attendees questioned how the outside group "Why Islam" was able to set up a table on campus during school hours earlier this month without district approval.
In a viral video, the president of the school's Republican Club describes what he says he saw.
"They were giving out hijabs to girls throughout the high school, and they were giving our Qurans, and they also had pamphlets about Sharia law," he said.
Wylie East student Camden Campbell attended with his father.
"When I found out, it was pretty shocking," he said.
"My main concern is kind of the same as his," Jordan Campbell said. "It was basically, how did they get in and then come back and say we didn't know what they had? The other side of it was the Sharia law pamphlet."
Members of the Islamic community also shared their thoughts.
"I don't think anybody was converting them to Islam," Zulikha Hussain said. "This has gotten so out of proportion, and it's just the current environment we were in."
"It's disheartening," Wylie ISD parent Miriam Muhanna said. "You know our kids go to school wanting to go to a safe space, wanting to be taught and loved just like any other student."
The district says the "Why Islam" visitors checked in through the front office and were processed through their screening system, but a staff member didn't verify that the required guest speaker approval process had been completed.
The staff member was placed on leave pending an investigation.
Wylie ISD is also updating club procedures, including replacing the Guest Speaker form with a new Outside Visitor Approval Form to keep a record of all visitors to clubs and organizations.
The club sponsor will meet the visitor in the front office and escort the visitor to and from the meeting location.
"We have a few things that we will take care of and adjust, but we're going to earn your trust back and I'm sorry that happened," Board President Bill Howard said during the meeting.
There were no action items related to this incident on the agenda.
A spokesperson for the district did give an update on the investigation and says, "The review process has concluded, and additional action is being taken. However, because this is a personnel matter, we are unable to share specific details."
