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Fairfax County Public Schools has agreed to keep disciplinary actions against Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology students internal while their federal civil-rights lawsuit proceeds, under a temporary agreement filed in federal court.
The students were suspended after making a social-media video promoting their Muslim Students Association chapter. In the video, students asked peers whether they planned to attend a Muslim Students Association meeting and then “kidnapped” those who said no, according to the lawsuit.
The agreement bars FCPS from disclosing the challenged disciplinary actions to colleges, universities or other third parties until the court decides the case. FCPS described the provision this way: “FCPS has agreed by this stipulation to keep the disciplinary actions internal and not disclose them to any colleges, universities, or other third parties until the court has decided the case.”
The restriction includes exceptions for disclosures authorized by the court, disclosures in which personally identifiable information has been removed, and compulsory legal processes involving FCPS.
The agreement also addresses clothing shown in the video. It states that clothing displaying a map of Palestine or the Palestinian flag will not, by itself, constitute grounds for discipline. The provision specifically addresses a Palestine sweatshirt worn by one student in the video.
In exchange for the temporary protections, the Council on American-Islamic Relations agreed not to seek a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria. CAIR, through its Legal Defense Fund, is assisting the students with legal counsel.
John Fossum, a staff attorney for the CAIR Legal Defense Fund, said the agreement represented a limited step forward. “We appreciate the school district for taking a step in the right direction, even if the measure is temporary,” Fossum said. He added, “The next step is acknowledging and taking responsibility for the harm done to our clients.”
The agreement remains effective until District Judge Anthony Trenga enters final judgment in the case.
The students’ lawsuit alleges that FCPS violated their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and several federal civil-rights statutes. Those claims remain unresolved. The lawsuit also alleges that other student groups posted similar skits based on the same popular social-media trend but were not disciplined. That allegation has not been independently verified.
FCPS said the district remains focused on its broader school environment. “FCPS remains committed to inclusive classrooms and respectful learning spaces for all our students,” the school system said.
The discipline followed an incident in October 2025. The students filed the lawsuit earlier in the summer of 2026, while the preliminary joint agreement was filed in federal court the week before the report describing the temporary protections. The precise filing dates were not supplied.