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A Wylie East High School staff member has been placed on leave following social media outrage over an outside organization distributing religious materials on campus on Monday.
In a series of letters, the district told parents that the group Why Islam had been invited by Wylie East’s Muslim Student Association to visit the campus for World Hijab Day, but did not receive official approval prior to the visit.
Four women from the group set up a table in the school’s main hallway during lunch periods. The table featured a spin wheel, a photo frame, candy, scarves, hijabs, Why Islam-branded bags, pamphlets and copies of the Quran, according to a letter from Superintendent Kim Spicer.
She further wrote that “I am deeply disappointed and frustrated that this situation occurred” and that public schools were not “the place for promoting personal belief systems.”
Wylie ISD said the group’s religious affiliation did not influence the reaction.
“The district’s response was not influenced by the organization’s religious affiliation,” the district said in a statement. “This situation stemmed from a procedural failure. Regardless of belief system, Wylie ISD does not permit the distribution of religious materials to students, in accordance with board policy.”
District officials said they became aware of the incident around 8:30 p.m. Monday night, when videos began circulating on social media.
One of the trending videos, shared to X by anti-Muslim activist Amy Mek with the words “THIS IS HOW ISLAMIZATION ENTERS YOUR SCHOOLS” written in the caption, shows a student identifying himself as president of Wylie East’s Republican Club speaking out against the group’s presence on campus.
“They were giving hijabs to girls throughout the high school, they were giving out Qurans and they also had pamphlets about sharia law and other Islamic things,” he said in the video, which has been reposted over 19,000 times since it was shared.
In another video, the student said he had not seen Bibles passed out or a church visit the school, and called for action.
“I just want to address this as soon as possible and want this to spread like wildfire. We want everyone to get involved and address this in however way we can,” he said.
The videos drew considerable attention from conservative X pages. Right-wing account Libs of TikTok, which has 4.6 million followers, shared the video early Tuesday morning. Another post, which has over 11,000 likes as of publication time, simply said, “It has to stop.”
Wylie ISD officials said the incident occurred due to disregard for district policy on guest speakers. After they arrived, Why Islam representatives presented IDs and were issued visitor badges at the school’s front desk, following standard procedure. A staff member then escorted them to the main hallway to set up their table.
The lapse, the district says, occurred when that staff member failed to verify their approval to be on Wylie East’s campus. Wylie ISD policy states that outside organizations distributing materials must obtain prior approval from district leadership. Guest speakers invited by student organizations must also obtain district approval, which Why Islam failed to obtain.
Why Islam and its parent organization, the Islamic Circle of North America, could not be reached for comment.
As a result, the staff member has been placed on leave pending an HR investigation. A district spokesperson was unable to comment on potential consequences for students.
Wylie ISD told parents the group did not “actively hand out” materials; instead, Why Islam representatives offered bags to interested students who chose to take items from the table. Fewer than 50 students stopped by the table. A dozen students tried on head scarves or hijabs, fewer than 10 “voluntarily picked up” pamphlets or copies of the Quran, and 4 or 5 received henna tattoos, according to a letter.
U.S. Rep Keith Self, whose congressional district includes almost all of Wylie, chimed in on the incident before noon Tuesday.
“This isn’t accidental. This is purposeful infiltration. We cannot allow this. BAN SHARIA,” Self wrote in an X post.
Later that day, Self held a press conference calling for a “sharia-free America” and declaring Texas “ground zero in this fight.”
In an interview with CBS News, another Wylie East student, Kennedy Williams, said she wasn’t bothered by the display.
“It felt very OK,” Williams told CBS. “It felt like any other club we have, like we have a Christian club, we have a Republican club, and they all do the same thing, so I didn’t find anything wrong with it.”
