John Matthews
WMAL.com
ELLICOTT CITY, MD — (WMAL) For the past several weeks, school officials in Howard County, Maryland had been considering a difficult proposal to strip two significant Jewish holidays from the school calendar in an effort to avoid showing favoritism of one religion over another in setting policy.
Instead, the Board of Education opted Thursday to employ addition instead of subtraction, directing the school staff to find ways to give students the day off on Lunar New Year’s Eve, the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha, and the Hindu holiday of Diwali during the 2016-17 school year, either by scheduling professional work days or declaring holidays for each of them.
“We want to do our best to find flexibility within the calendar to provide opportunities for all students to experience all cultures within our community,” said Board Chair Christine O’Connor in a news release.
Students and teachers had been given both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur off for many years as a nod to the significant Jewish population in Howard, but growing pressure from other segments of the diverse school population had threatened to end the practice. Christmas, Good Friday and Easter Monday are all designated state holidays and were therefore not subject to being removed.
The new additions will be in effect for the 2016-17 school year only, while school officials study the impact of religious observances in future years. A committee has been formed to study the calendar, and receive input from a broad array of community groups, including the Jewish Federation of Howard County, the Howard County Muslim Council, the Hindu community, and the Chinese American Parent Association.
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