WAYNE – The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or just ISIS, has a long and bloody history of terrorism, including an attack on a Moscow concert hall in March that killed more than 100 people.

What is obvious to the U.S. State Department and to the world community at large, however, is not obvious to school officials in this Passaic County town.

The district superintendent has apologized for a multiple-choice test question in June that asked students to identify a terrorist group with a “goal of achieving global rule under strict Islamic Sharia law.”

The correct answer on the test – and in real life as well – was ISIS.

Things soon got out of hand.

There were complaints from some in the district that the question was discriminatory to Muslims. That in itself is not a surprise. Complaints about political and international issues are common these days.

But then …

The superintendent apologized on behalf of the district. That’s right, he said it was wrong to suggest in a quiz that ISIS is a terrorist organization.

In a missive to those who raised concerns,  Mark Toback said, “The question was offensive and contrary to our values of respect, inclusivity, and cultural sensitivity.”

It continued: “Such incidents are unacceptable and do not reflect the standards we uphold for our educational community. We understand the deep concern and disappointment this has caused among students, parents and the broader community.”

It is true that any classroom lesson about ISIS should stress that an overwhelming number of Muslims do not support ISIS. Also, given the fact ISIS is a Sunni organization, it attacks other Muslims. namely Shias.

But those significant qualifiers do not suggest that it is not a terror group.

Not surprisingly, this debate popped up at last week’s board of education meeting.

Tobak reiterated his view at the start of the meeting. He talked about the “pain” the question caused and the need for respect and understanding.

All well and good, but does not “understanding” mean understanding facts and supporting them even if it makes some uncomfortable?

As one woman told the board, “ISIS is a globally recognized terrorist organization”  She quite logically told the superintendent that he should not pander and should not apologize for facts.

Or in other words, just because people complain, you don’t have to agree with them. Is it impossible to say, “I disagree. Case closed?”

Then the temperature was raised a bit higher.

Other speakers spoke of pervasive anti-Semitism in the district with Jewish students being harassed and bullied.

One man, in fact, said he may not wish to send his young Jewish children to the public school system.

Additionally, there were complaints that during graduation at Wayne Hills High School, some students displayed the Palestinian flag.

Boards of education do not directly respond to questions these days. This is by design.

The idea is not to get involved in protracted dialogue. But this policy also stifles discussion.
As elected officials, board members definitely should respond to questions. The current policy is simply wrong.

When the public session ended, the board president did hint at policy changes, saying that the board takes comments it hears at meetings seriously.

It’s still hard to grasp the notion that the chief education official in the district does not consider ISIS a terrorist group.

In the larger debate over public education these days, those on the right claim public schools are too prone to “political correctness” and the like. Episodes like this encourage that view.

Interestingly, one of the other possible answers on the multiple-choice test in question was al Qaeda.

That would have been a right answer too, that is unless someone suggests that the group that attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001 was not a terrorist organization.