Shaimaa Zayan stood behind a podium at the Barbara Jordan State Office Building, in downtown Austin, on Wednesday, after waiting hours for her turn to speak. Wearing glasses and a dark beige hijab, she glanced down, preparing to detail a recent spate of Islamophobic harassment and ask that State Board of Education members better represent Muslims in school curricula. Before she could begin her prepared testimony, however, a board member interjected.

“Is there anything in our rules preventing leadership of a foreign terrorist organization from testifying before our board?” Brandon Hall, a Springtown pastor who represents a district that’s mostly west of Tarrant County, asked SBOE chair Aaron Kinsey. There wasn’t, but Hall persisted. “Has [the Department of Public Safety] been notified that

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