A suburban Dallas school district has sued the state of Texas to prevent the release of details of a federal investigation into the arrest of a Muslim student who brought a homemade clock to class that was seen as a possible bomb.
The Texas attorney general's office earlier this month ordered the Irving school district to provide a copy of the US Department of Justice letter to The Dallas Morning News.
Instead, the district on Thursday sued to prevent the release of the multi-page letter, which outlined allegations of "discipline of students on the basis of race, religion and national origin," the newspaper reported.
The district has been turning over sealed documents to comply with the investigation into the September arrest of 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed. A charge of having a hoax bomb was later dropped but the Muslim teen was suspended.
His family has said the boy's religion was a factor in the school's response, but officials have denied the claim. The district has argued it's withholding the letter because it expects to be sued by the Mohamed family.
The teen made the digital clock and brought it to class to show a teacher. His subsequent punishment brought an outpouring of support from President Barack Obama, other political leaders, corporate executives and NASA scientists.
Mohamed's family eventually left Irving after reporting threats and now lives in Qatar.
