Students of all religions look forward to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Christmas and Easter for the day off from school, whether they use it to celebrate or to relax. While school will remain closed on those days, holiday names will be nowhere in sight.

The MCPS Board of Education 7-1 vote to remove all references to religious holidays from the 2015-2016 school year calendar has sparked controversy within the county. Schools will continue to stay closed on those days due to high absence rates and seasonal breaks.
“All the Board’s vote did was to change the way those holidays are annotated on our calendar in order to eliminate the misconception that schools are closed for religious reasons,” Board President Phil Kauffman and Vice President Patricia O’Neill wrote in a statement.

The decision came after Muslim families in the county requested that the Board vote to close schools for Eid al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday. Coincidentally, Eid al-Adha falls on the same day as Yom Kippur in 2015, so Muslim students will have the day off. Schools will not close on Eid al-Adha in future years, however.

“I know it doesn’t seem like a lot, but you can miss a lot of instruction in one day,” a Muslim sophomore girl said.

Kauffman and O’Neill explained that school closes on Jewish and Christian holidays because the high absence rates disrupt schools’ operation. Under the U.S. constitution, MCPS cannot close schools for purely religious reasons. Schools will stay open on Muslim holidays, since past absentee rates on Eid al-Adha have not been high enough to warrant closing schools.

Past calendars have included the names of holidays as the reason for no school. The new “religion neutral” calendar simply states “No school for students and teachers” on the Jewish high holidays and “Winter Break” and “Spring Break,” for days that include Christmas and Easter.

“Most large districts have already done this, and I’m not sure why MCPS was behind in this decision,” O’Neill said in a phone interview.

Even though this policy is not unique to MCPS, the decision has been highly controversial.

“Just because they say there is no official reason doesn’t make it any better. The fact is Jews and Christians are already getting school off while Muslims aren’t even getting the one holiday they asked for off,” Jewish sophomore Ellis London said. “Nothing has actually changed at all.”

The removal of religious references does not solve the complex issue that prompted the change: Muslim students still must miss school on Eid al-Adha.

“I completely understand why they don’t give us the day off,” the Muslim sophomore girl said. “I just wish I could enjoy an important aspect of my culture and religion and not be penalized for that academically.”