“There’s nothing posted that says you can’t swim in cotton,” said Ismaa’eel, owner and principal of the Darul-Amaanah Academy and director of its summer program. “At the same time, there are other kids with cotton on. … I asked, ‘Why are my kids being treated differently?'”

Ismaa’eel, who wears a hijab with a niqab covering her face, said she told the manager she would relay the message to the program parents. But that didn’t resolve the issue.

“She (later) had a police officer come over and ask what time we were leaving,” Ismaa’eel said.