Schools

No Islamic Holidays in MCPS 2014-2015 Calendar

No Islamic holidays were added to the county school calendar for school year 2014-2015.

No Islamic holidays will be noted in the 2014-2015 Montgomery County Public Schools calendar, The Washington Post reported.

The county school board voted, 5 to 2, last week to approve the 2014-2015 school calendar without Muslim holidays. But, "school officials noted the Islamic holidays will fall on non-school days in 2014," The Post reported.

The board also said that it would continue to study the issue, The Post added.

>>>Read more about the issue on the website of The Washington Post.

The school calendar includes days off on major Christian and Jewish holidays.

Although many county residents—both Muslim and non-Muslim—have been fighting for years to have no school scheduled on major Islamic holidays, the county school board said it cannot close schools for religious reasons, MCPS spokesman Dana Tofig said, according to a CNS news story on Patch.
"Tofig stressed that, in order to close schools on Islamic holidays, the board would need evidence that staying open on those days caused secular, operational problems," CNS reported.

Some county residents—led by Montgomery County Councilman George Leventhal (D-At Large)—said they would keep their children home from school this year on Oct. 15—Eid Al-Adha—in solidarity with fellow Muslim families celebrating the "Feast of the Sacrifice," Patch reported.
"Currently, the thousands of Muslim MCPS staff members and students have to choose between their education and observing their religious practices" on Muslim holidays, Leventhal said in a statement last September.

"They either skip school to celebrate Eids or they skip their religious observances to attend school. Many choose to do the latter. However, this is not a choice that our Christian and Jewish neighbors face on their holidays," he continued.

A student who provides a note from a parent or guardian to explain missing school for a religious holiday will receive an excused absence, according to Leventhal's statement.

The two main Islamic holidays are Eid Al-Adha (on Sunday, Oct. 5, in 2014) and Eid Al-Fitr (the end of Ramadan—on Tuesday, July 29, in 2014). Because the Muslim calendar is generally 11 days shorter than the 365-day calendar, the dates of the holidays move up 11 or 10 days each year.

Do you think the Montgomery County Public Schools calendar should include major Islamic holidays in its list of no-school days? Tell us in the comments.


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