The controversy over the Islamic scarf (hijab) was sparked on 18 September 1989, when three female students were suspended for refusing to remove their scarves in class at Gabriel Havez Middle School in Creil. In November 1989, the Conseil d'État ruled that the scarf's quasi religious expression was compatible with the "laïcité" of public schools. That December, minister of education Lionel Jospin issued a statement declaring that educators had the responsibility of accepting or refusing the wearing of the scarf in classes on a case-by-case basis.