Prosecutors in Essex County in New Jersey announced this past week that it won’t press charges against a second-grade teacher accused of yanking a hijab off a student’s head.
North Jersey.com reported investigators determined they had insufficient evidence to successfully charge the teacher, Tamar Herman.
According to PIX11, the family of the child alleged similar incidents of discrimination have occurred in the South-Orange-Maplewood School District in recent years.
The 7-year-old’s mother, Zaynab Wyatt, said Herman yanked the hijab off her daughter’s head in the middle of class. Wyatt went on social media to demand that Herman be fired.
Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said he based his decision on a “full investigation and a thorough review of all available evidence and the applicable law.”
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The family’s attorney told NJ.com that the decision by Stephens doesn’t surprise him.
“As a former prosecutor myself, I never anticipated that there would be a criminal prosecution in the case,” Tarver told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. “That requires a different standard.”
Tarver said he is preparing to sue the district and will allege a pattern of discrimination since 2017.
The incident went viral on social media after U.S. Olympian medal winner Ibtihaj Muhammad tweeted about the incident.
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